Old Time Rock 'n' Roll
by Susanna King
Summary: {AU!} [Book One: Twilight, in process] Bella Swan's addition to the Cullen's world has created some after effects that no one could have guessed would happen. Edward's inability to stay away from her has created a rift in his family, and their concern for his mind will soon be tossed away when a group of nomads wander into their territory uninvited. {Jasper/Erin}
1. Chapter 1

**Edited 2/24/2016**

* * *

They weren't alone in the parking lot, he noticed as he waited for the others. Across the rows of cars, someone was laying on top of an old blue car. The markings on it said it was a Chevy, but the steel horse embedded in the rusted front bumper of the car told him otherwise.

Alice had seen that the cloud bank would open late during the school day, taking up the last two classes of the day, so Carlisle had called the school that morning informing the head desk that they were to leave early. Jasper didn't know the excuse he used, but he rarely spoke up to explain the carefully designed excuses they used at the schools they went to, so he found it fairly was usually Emmett and Alice who let the rumors roam out over the campus' with skillful expertise.

Jasper then flinched, hearing the sudden metallic sound of the girl's hands and feet patting her elderly vehicle incredibly roughly to the bass and drums playing in the song. It ticked him off, not only the sound, but what she was doing to the old Not-Chevy. Apparently, she was always there for sixth period, on or inside of her car according to Emmett, who ran out there at the same time to reach the football field.

It was a pretty thing, the 1968 underneath her body. Old as it was, it had marvelous potential in it's framework. The color of it used to be blue, but it was faded and rusted in some places, the old paint job chipping away and revealing the ugly grey underneath it. The tires weren't in correctly, and her bumper had several dents and blackened scratches from accidents. It was like a piece of coal that he could envision turning into a bright diamond. But that vision was ruined by the sight of that tiny thing pounding away on top of it like a mad-woman.

" _I make a rich woman beg!_ " Slap. " _I'll make a good woman steal._ " Thump. " _I'll make an old woman blush. And make a young girl squeal._ " Bang.

" _I wanna be yours pretty baby. Yours and yours alone._ " Thump thump. " _I'm here to tell ya honey, that I'm bad to the bone._ " The vampire watched the teenager move her hands quickly, as if mimicking the drum solo that was playing on her ancient car stereo, smashing around in the air in front of her. Her eyes were covered in cheap black sunglasses, and the scuffed, dirty red sneakers were on her feet that looked like they could tear open and be used as a puppet any moment. Or taken off and thrown across the lot somewhere. Her emotions were odd, even from across the parking lot. One moment, she'd be boisterous, filled with excitement and such energy that he wondered if he pin-pointed her age wrong, that she was actually a 13-year old masquerading around in a high school, and then out of nowhere she'd stop completely. Emptiness, nothing, like she was dead. And again, out of the blue it would start up, anticipation building into intense sensations of childish energy.

This girl-child was annoying him. She was giving him an emotional roller coaster and he wasn't even _trying_ to sense her feelings. It was just flooding the entire parking lot, walloping him with harsh intensity and he felt a bit light headed.

" _B-b-b-b-b-b-bad! B-b-b-b-b-b-bad! Bad to the bone!_ " George Thorogood's voice shouted noisily from the stereo across the lot. The girl on top of it continued to move to the beat of the song, her back thump-thump-thumping back against her windshield. Cruelly, he wanted it to break underneath her, just so she'd learn a lesson on how to treat vintage cars. But then, what if her skin broke open and she bled?

"Jazz?" Alice inquired worriedly. The intense look that was on her brother's face was beginning to make her concerned for him. She didn't want to look into his future though. Didn't want to know what he wanted to do. After years of seeing his almost-slip ups and _actual_ slip ups? The amount of lives lost, one more wouldn't change anything, she thought sadly.

Emmett, Rosalie and Edward arrived, and they didn't linger. They sped off past the girl on the old car and out of the parking lot.

* * *

The next day, while he was sitting in his sixth period class on the second floor of the old red-bricked History building, he caught the sound of music again.

" _Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed boys that had been away!_ " No one else in the class could have heard it, but to him it rang out so loudly and clearly that it sounded like it was being played just for him.

" _They were askin' if you were around. How you was, where you could be found. Told 'em you were livin' downtown, drivin' all the old men crazy._ " Jasper had no idea who this song was even by, despite living through all of the American cultural extremes with a photographic memory. But the lyrics and the rhythm of the music was familiar, and he found himself enjoying it. Even with the sounds of slaps and bangs that were accompanied by it, and from these sounds alone he knew instantly it was the girl from the day before. It sounded like leather, rather than metal this time around. She must be inside her car hitting the steering wheel or her seats.

He had a sudden, unusually fervent wish to see her. Banging away on her old steering wheel, her brown hair catching in front of her face and her scuffed up shoes banging on the car floor, maybe hitting her knees against the door. There would be candy wrappers on that floor, he bet. Not a lot, but a small handful that got caught underneath her seat and then forgotten from Halloween. This information just came to him, he knew the inside of her car was messy, with old things inside of it. There was no doubt about it.

He had to prove it.

Jasper raised his hand, causing the teacher who was looking down at his papers to look back up and point at him. "Sir, I'm not feeling well, may I go to the nurse?" The teacher, who was in a light green shirt that was tucked into his underwear, stuttered at being spoken to by one of the Cullens. Then he began nodding nervously, saying a shocked 'Y-yes'.

He left swiftly out the door, holding his backpack by the strap as he swiftly hurried down the stairs, following the sound of the banging and slamming of metal dutifully.

Outside, he moved behind the rows of cars, hiding his presence to whoever else was there. The clouds were a stormy mix of grey's, their deep color appropriate for the first day of November. It was already sprinkling a bit, the tiny bits of water sounding so loud to him, the slight pattering of rain only accentuated the sound of the old fake Chevy's groaning stereo. " _The boys are back in tow-wwwwn_!" He stayed by Emmett's Jeep, holding onto one of the bars as he watched the girl across the lot bang her hands on her steering wheel, her entire body bobbing and moving as she pleased. It was like observing someone having a seizure or going into a fit.

And once again, her emotions dragged on him. Just like yesterday. It took him by surprise again today, smashing into him and dragging him along for the ride.

She was wearing a loose and soft looking mustard yellow shirt that drooped incredibly low on her torso and off of her shoulder, revealing the bare skin of her shoulder. Her banging and swinging her arms around the inside her car must have made it slide off of her, he thought as he stared intently on a black freckle that was on her shoulder. Jasper forced his eyes away from her and towards the rest of her car. A large maroon sweater was thrown over the passenger seat. She decided to forgo it in favor of her old heating system?

The corners of his mouth curled up, watching her mouth the words passionately and let her head drop back as if singing to the heavens. The small brunette looked like her windows were about to fog up from the moment and heat her body was creating all by itself. He was aching in a strange way. He didn't realize he was edging along the side of Emmett's Jeep, closer to her car. Closer to her.

" _Friday night they'll be dressed to kill, down at Dino's Bar 'n' Grill._ " She slammed her entire body back against the seat, making it shudder underneath her weight, her green cargo pant covered knees raising into his view.

" _The drink will flow and the blood will spill! And if the boys want to fight, you better let 'em._ " This was the first time in a long time that he was content simply with watching someone. He liked to busy himself, with motorcycles, with fixing the families cars with Rosalie. Hell, last week he built a brand new dresser for Esme. He had to learn Swedish to do it, but he managed it easily. They could have gotten it already put together, but it was more entertaining this way, and a way to put use to the tools in the toolbox.

" _The jukebox in the corner blastin' out my favorite song! The nights are getting longer, it won't be long. Won't be long till the summer comes._ "

" _Now the boys are here again. The boys are back in town!_ "

It wasn't until handfuls of other songs had passed that he realized that classes had ended for half the school. Students filed out of the front doors, and then the deafening silence grabbed hold of him. There could have been crickets, because the music, that beautiful music had _stopped_. **Everything** had stopped, the girl he had been watching enthusiastically listening to her music had gotten out of her old car and was walking _towards_ him.

Without a second thought of his feelings of insanity, he dropped down onto the pavement and rolled underneath the Jeep. He could _smell_ her. It wasn't a special scent, nor was it all that attractive. It was leather and the woods and the heavy, sinking smell of tobacco. But that smell sent every muscle in his body ablaze. He wanted to grab her and drag her underneath him and sink his teeth into her. He wanted to own her and possess her and now the Major was suddenly on his face and growling, using his vocal chords to try to tempt that tiny, provocative thing to him. But she was already gone, and now that his nose had cleared, he thought that seducing a girl from underneath a car was immeasurably dim.

Oil had dripped on his shirt and pants, staining the clothing that Alice picked out for him that morning. And then, it dripped on his face, making him cringe. He gulped down the venom that was in his mouth, and rolled out from underneath the car, rain pelting on him and cleaning the oil from his stony-face. The others were around him, standing there staring down at him as he rolled onto his back, getting drenched from the puddles there.

"Dude, what the hell did you just do to my car?!" Emmett boomed, his hands gripping the bottom of his Jeep, like he was going to pick it up and see what his brother had done right in front of the huge amount of humans around them.

"Nothing... But you have a leak." He muttered, remaining on the floor as the dirt and water soaked into his slacks and least favorite sweater.

* * *

 **R &R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Edited 2/25/16**

* * *

That night he was interrogated by Emmett, who was so sure that it was his fault that he had a leak in the first place, that he had done something to it. Rosalie had taken it upon herself to fix the leak and do a complete diagnostic until her husband stopped his childish pouting. Afterwards and after avoiding walking past a frowning Alice, Jasper decided to search for the song that had been playing through his head from that old radio.

All of it, the information written there on his computer screen, the lyrics and the history of the band seemed so utterly important. So he memorized it all. The lyrics and the beats of it, the band's history. Jasper even tried to recall the time period, looking back to see if he had ever accidentally come across the band before they were famous. But as the Southern-bred vampire listened to the sound of the music coming from his in perfect-condition speakers, sitting stone still, he found that it wasn't the same. The sounds came out _too_ smoothly, and the vocalist's voice was too easy to hear coming out of his speakers. It wasn't the same brash tune that he heard from that car's speakers.

Perhaps that girl had found out the same thing he just did, a long time ago. That old rock music sounded better coming from an old cassette tape stereo, with you banging and trying to copy the musician's instruments with only your hands.

"Her name is Erin." Edward told him from his door. He looked peeved with him, perhaps because of the way he had been imagining himself banging and moving around just like the girl, Erin, did, with her shoulder-length brown hair swinging around her and getting caught between her lips. He turned away from his brother, looking away.

"What's her last name?" Jasper asked, tapping his finger against the space key on his laptop, trying with intense difficulty to keep his interest and fascination with this girl out of his thoughts.

"Oakes. She lives just a quarter mile up the road." He returned, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched his brother suddenly rise up from his seat and run his hand through his shaggy yellow hair. The older vampire didn't even think about it, he was getting up and putting on a dark jean jacket from his closet, slipping on a pair of shoes.

"Are you going to see her?" Edwards incredulous question threw him off track. Was he going to see her? Why would he do that? He'd see her tomorrow anyway, with her banging away excitedly on top of her car, and him hiding behind the rows of vehicles watching her.

 _Yeah I am,_ Jasper thought to him, brief and ignoring the worried look on the ginger's face before rushing past him and down the stairs quickly. There wasn't even a second thought. It was just plain and simple, he wanted to see her, and so he would. Edward said she lived close by, very close by, so he'd just go along the road until he found a house. Maybe follow her scent instead, if there was too much forest hiding her home, like it was with their mansion. Or if it was easier, he'd follow the music, or the smell of gasoline and exhaust in her car. Rosalie sneered at him as he walked past her and into the rain, but her feelings that would normally wash over him didn't come over him in the way that it normally would, so he disregarded his twin and continued to the garage where they kept their more noticeable vehicles. If it was one thing they all splurged on, it was cars.

He picked out the one car of his that looked most like Erin's. It was a sleek black Chevelle that was a year older than her Mustang, with slight wings at that back that he added himself. He completely rebuilt the framework when he bought it ten years ago, and everything inside was shiny and smelled like a dealership now. They were living in Chicago at the time when he found it, beaten up and sad.

Jasper plucked the keys off the hook and got into the car. It squeaked when he sat in the leather and the car door shuddered when he shut it after putting his long legs inside. It didn't smell like it was made in the sixties. But the engine roared when he started it, and the entire car shook with the brute force of the engine. Dark smoke came out the exhaust pipe from her lack of use, he could smell it and see it from the driver's mirror. He tutted to himself, promising to check her over when he came back. He pulled out of the drive way as quickly as she would let him and sped off up the black paved road, rain hitting the windshield and washing the small amount of dust off of it.

Of course it had to be rain, he thought bitterly. That would enhance every scent around him, including the oil sunk into the roads, the pine trees around him, the animals that were preparing to hibernate for the winter. Jasper huffed, knowing he couldn't track her this way. Instead, he just watched out for the signs of a home. As he did, his thoughts raced, berating him for going through with this. But the Major, who was tucked inside and locked away, was practically purring with contentment, eager to see the human woman who sent a very different rush through him. And he couldn't refuse him as well as he thought he could.

Jasper ran across a grand looking home. It was a very dark green, hiding itself well inside of the forest background. A human probably would have looked over it, not seeing anything at all. But the windows along the home were open, tinted a dark color. But he could see everything, whereas another wouldn't have been able to see even the slightest movement.

He found her, she was inside, he could hear her heartbeat (or could that be something else's? Did she had a pet of some kind? What if she wasn't home at all? Or what if it was one of her parents?)

He parked another half-mile away, on the side of the rode underneath a large redwood tree before running back towards the girl's house. To his delight, it was in fact her, because he saw her car in the driveway next to the house. It was underneath what looked like a huge tent made of metal that likely led inside of the house. If he wanted to, he could creep inside. That worried him. If he could creep inside, what other things could? She could wake up and find coyotes and wolves and other creatures nesting inside there! What if they got the drop on her, she was quite small, and he didn't know if she knew how to take care of herself or not.

Then, he noticed a baseball bat next to the door inside of there. That settled him for now. Maybe her father drove away the creatures, or closed it up when he got home so nothing could get inside and cause a wreck...

The blonde hiked up to one of the tall trees to where he thought she was. There were large, blocky windows all along her home, so he could see her perfectly within the family room with his vision. There was a pizza box on the table in front of her and the large screen in front of her was playing the was just about the weather, showing the weeks forecast of heavy rain and lightning storms.

Alice would be eager to play baseball later that week, if the lightning became loud enough. They'd make the thunder of course, no one would think it unusual.

Erin ran her fingers through her hair, which looked darker than usual. Around her was a warm looking blanket. Her feelings seemed calm and steady without her music, and he furrowed his dark blonde eyebrows, wondering what he had been expecting. A party maybe, with music screaming loud enough to crack the windows and her dancing and moving and banging her head wildly around the room, like a slightly larger version of what she did during sixth period in the parking lot.

But everything here was calm and very typical of a teenage girl, and it made him question why she didn't take advantage of the secluded area to writhe around.

Intent on the need for answers, Jasper climbed higher, looking in each room until he found the one that most looked like it was hers. It was in the back, with a long, horizontal window that looked out at the dark forest behind him. There was no carpet, only hard, shiny black wood in her room, unlike the others which were wall to wall white carpet. He hoped she wore socks at night, wood got very cold at night.

A loud growl peaked his interest. It wasn't coming from him, but rather behind him and out in the forest. It was just a wolf, hunting a deer or rabbit perhaps for it's dinner. Then, Jasper wondered if the sounds of the forest frightened the girl whose bedroom he was observing. As a child, maybe? Sleeping in her bed at night, and seeing the bright and glowing eyes of owls swooping past her window from trees to retrieve mice from the ground. Did she pull her covers over her head and try to fall asleep anyway, or would she run and hide in her parent's bedroom when she was frightened?

Amber eyes wandered around the contents of her room. Her bed was covered in an army comforter, filled with her clothes and a black laptop, shoved up against the wall on his right. There were clothes all over the floor too, so many of them that he couldn't tell what articles they were. Jasper felt triumphant when he saw a pile of candy wrappers on the bright red desk in the corner of the room. Milky Ways and Three Musketeers wrappers, along with rolls of fruity mentos and discarded, empty pepsi cans.

There were no books in her bookshelf. DVDs and VHS tapes were there, while her actual books (the first six Harry Potter novels, and then a LOT of For Dummies manuals) were stacked on the floor next to the bookshelf, despite there being plenty of room in it. Her built-in closet was partially open and shoes were haphazardly thrown inside of it, just as destroyed as the ones she wore yesterday. Inside were a multitude of fabrics and other such odds and ends. There was an eight ball inside of it that appeared to have been broken and drained of it's colored water, and now was just broken black plastic with an eight sided die inside of it. There were also brand new boxes inside bags on the top shelf. The names spelled out 'Couture' and other sorts of clothing brands that he'd seen Alice rifle through. Actually, some of those things were the very brand that Alice was secretly running.

Jasper moved closer, as if to get a better look at the names and what could possibly be inside of the packages when he heard a car drive past, the headlights making him stiffen and drop down from the tree to the damp earth beneath him. When had the rain stopped?

He heard two adults chatting with one another, both of which were women. He sneaked around the trees, making sure he wasn't able to be seen while he observed the two, one in black and the other in tan. The woman in black was tall and of Asian descent. She took the shorter woman's hand and shared a possessive kiss with her, causing the other woman to flush. His throat burned.

The woman in tan backed away from the other woman and got into her car, while the Asian woman headed towards the house.

Intense curiosity came over him. It took a while to realize that it was his own curiosity that he wanted sated. Erin lived with her mother in a very lavish, expensive looking home. It was late, there was no sign of her father around the house. Erin was a messy teenager. And _he had been watching her_ all night long, it was now 11 at night, and he did this just to find out how she acted outside of school. A girl he had never spoken to. A girl he hid from so she couldn't see his yellow eyes peering out and watching her from the middle of the dark forest.

The blonde eyed the window he knew the head-banging rocker was behind right now, but the pit in his stomach that felt like guilt and self-disgust forced him to run after his car and drive back to his coven. Even when the sound of music emitted from the back of her home, he didn't turn back.

* * *

 **R &R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Edited 2/25/16**

* * *

The next day, he saw her in the cafeteria during lunch.

Jasper got a much better look at her this way, and he began to hungrily take in her features. Her cheap sunglasses was tucked in her shirt so he could see the intense hazel color of them. She outlined her eyes with eyeshadow and black liner, but it looked like she had smudged in between the time she did it and now, because the black had gone off towards her temple, making her look like she had been in a fight. Erin walked through the line with a bag of chips in her teeth and a steaming Styrofoam cup full of ramen in her hand, her stride confident and at ease despite her ragged appearance. She also seemed a bit cold, so the hot soup she had was appropriate. Those thin, rumpled clothes coupled with the air conditioning in the room must have had her stiff as a leaf. Or it should have, because she certainly wasn't shivering.

She moved on without a single tremor to one of the empty tables, settling her hot ramen down before a can of off-brand Pepsi was produced out of her huge jacket pocket.

Jasper didn't blink as he observed her odd way of eating lunch. She tore open the bag of hot Cheetos that she'd been holding in her teeth (a few of the bright red confections scattering off around the table) and dumped the contents into the ramen for it to disintegrate. With a mouthful of the noodles and bright red snacks, she opened the can of soda with one hand, using her partially painted finger nails. Erin was just as messy of an eater as she was everything else. Everything about her seemed to scream 'SLOB', and yet he couldn't tear his eyes from her.

Under the table, Edward kicked his ankle. He had to flicker his orbs away from the girl who had just begun to rock back and forth in her seat while the noodles shot broth this way and that, and turned to glare at his adopted brother, mentally asking 'What the hell was that for? Asshole.'

"Someone's going to notice you staring at her if you keep up not blinking." The ginger muttered to him harshly under his breath, his stony white fingers peeling out the bright orange American cheese from the sandwich on his plate.

"Edward's right, Jazz. She's gonna look up soon." Alice brought up from beside them, setting down her plate in the seat next to his before smoothing out her stylish violet pants. As she likely expected, Jasper looked away just in time for the brown-haired girl to glance their way, casual and with no real purpose. He saw her in the corner of his eye looking at them, her fork in her mouth and her hands patting her thighs in some kind of rhythm that he had yet to recognize. He longed to walk over there as ask. And the Major yearned to sink his teeth into her pulsating thigh.

Searching for her in the lunchroom, he found curiosity and some kind of annoyance. Erin was looking over each of them, her eyes lingering on himself and Rosalie before she turned back to her lunch and started to suck off her red dust covered fingers.

Jasper stopped holding his breath, his knuckles relaxing and going back to his usual pale skin tone, while the shiny, white crescent marks receded into it.

Then, Alice leaned in close to him. "Smile in five seconds." Alice whispered lowly before going back to playing with the food on her plate. The blonde obeyed her, counting in his head before flashing his most charming grin (the kind he used on Jenkin's wives), his hands tightening around the steel table hard enough to leave a dent. Alice knew more than he did about why he was so intent on watching and copying Erin. There was a reason she was keeping him in the dark, but she could have at least given him a hint about what was so important about her and her horrible habits.

* * *

She was laying on top of her car again, her shirt ridden up on her stomach, revealing her smooth pierced naval. Bob Seger was playing on her terror of a stereo, the cracking of it making it sound even older than it was.

" _I was a little too tall, coulda used a few pounds. Tight pants points hardly reknown._ " Erin was only tapping the hood of her car to the beat, rather than her harsh writhing and banging. It wasn't as satisfying as watching her rock around like she was having a fit, but it was pleasant to his ears. At least her car (which he'd begun to think was just a Mustang that was faking being a Chevy), wasn't paying for his amusement.

" _She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes. And points all her own sitting way up high. Way up firm and high._ "

Jasper couldn't leave his History class two days in a row, even with all of it's horrible inaccuracies, so instead he took this as an opportunity to leave for his Advanced Calc. Class (which gave him a much better view), with the quickest excuse he could pull out of his ass. It worked, with the assistance of his gift, so the spineless teacher who barely got out of community college excused him. She was much gentler when given a lighter rock beat, he noticed, a content smile in the corners of his lips.

He started to tap the top of his desk, in the same way that she was patting her car to the very same beat she was copying.

" _Out past the corn fields where the woods got heavy. Out in the back seat of my 60' Chevy._ " Tap tap tap.

" _Workin' on mysteries without any clues, workin' on our night moves._ " Tap tap tap tap tap.

" _Tryin' to make some front page drive-in news. Workin' on our night moves. In the summer time. In the sweeeet summer time._ " Tap tap.

"Mr. Hale." The voice of his Advanced Calculus teacher brought his attention back to the front of the class. Usually the teachers avoided calling on any of his coven. He must have caught him staring out the window. "Will you please come up to the board and demonstrate the Divergence theorem, since you're confident enough to not pay attention?"

He nodded confidently, sliding out of his seat with a cat-like grace while ignoring the whispers of his classmates who were obviously enthralled by the idea of him disobeying the teacher (who had let him in his class when he wasn't supposed to be even.) He performed the theorem flawlessly on the old dull green chalk board. This was his second time taking Advanced Calculus, though the first time he'd skipped ahead to it. He already had the entire textbook memorized, since they hardly ever changed the book they used.

Jasper put down the chalk and walked back to his seat, feeling the embarrassment the teacher felt as he walked by.

"Thank you." He said gruffly before turning back to the board to explain the theorem himself.

* * *

"Go to the back of the school. Take these." Alice said, handing him a box of cigarettes and a shiny new zippo lighter. He immediately scrunched up his nose. The smell of cigarettes nowadays was vile, filled with tar and other revolting chemicals that infested the air and clung to clothing. Why was Alice giving him these disgusting things?

"I know, but you'll have to bare it for a while." The much smaller vampire said with a half smile. "Go outside, Erin'll be there."

"What? Alice, then what're... these for?" Jasper started to ask, but then she left, running way and leaving him with the packet of cigarettes and lighter.

He let out an angry huff and obeyed his sister, only breathing through his mouth as he walked past the large number of students that were coming his way. The burn was still there, he could taste their scents on his tongue. Jasper hid the cigarettes in his pockets as he rushed past the office and dozens of children through the halls, searching out the girl who had captured his attention so thoroughly in only three days.

Back when he was human, he smoked and chewed tobacco like everyone else in his town. However since his change the smell and taste were now incredibly foul to his senses. There she was! Jasper saw her, leaning against a blocky pillar with a cigarette between her fingers and her other hand stuffed into the back pocket of her baggy cargo pants.

"That'll rot your lungs." He murmured lowly to her, making her jump with fright.

"Jesus! Put on a fucking bell!" Her voice was high pitched and rough, startled at him coming up behind her. Butterscotch eyes watched her intensely as she dropped the cigarette from behind her fingers and stepped on it with her brown work boots. They were ruined too, the laces cut off oddly and stringy, while the back heels had holes in them.

"My apologies." He said, taking out the items from his pocket and flipping open the zippo lighter, reminiscing on the old lighters that were a large as bricks that he'd seen in the cities. You rolled the cigarettes yourself then. "I didn't mean to frighten you." That didn't change her irritated look, and she only kicked the destroyed cigarette away, like she was expecting him to tattle on her even when he himself had a package.

Erin turned to him, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him. She scoffed, looking him, up and down. She didn't look impressed with him, and he stiffened his body so as not to squirm underneath her heated stare. "Rot my lungs, huh, pretty boy? Look who's talking." He lit the cigarette and dangled it between his lips lazily. It would fill his dead lungs with smoke but offer nothing to that old craving of tobacco that he once had.

"Me, I'll be fine." He told her lowly, breathing out the smoke through his nose. "But you? Your teeth'll fall out."

"My teeth." Erin deadpanned, glaring up at him.

"Yes."

"That's stupid." She said to him, snatching up her jingling backpack from the ground. " _Your_ teeth are gonna fall out, Blondie." She muttered angrily as she walked away.

* * *

 **r &r**


	4. Chapter 4

**Edited 2/25/16  
**

* * *

After getting home from school, Alice had received several large UPS packages and shoved them into his arms.

"Here's just a little something to get things started. You did a great job today!" She told him with a huge, brilliantly white smile, which amused him as she lifted up the stack of brown boxes that almost reached the ceiling.

They were cassette tapes. Thousands of them. They were very old as well, still in their clear plastic cases and with a paper cut out pasted inside with the band's names and covers. They ranged from Black Sabbath to Bob Seger to Heart. Everything and in between looked exactly like something that Erin with her triple pierced ears (he noticed at lunch) would listen to. So he started listening too. He could hear the differences between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson's voices. He enjoyed the wispy and haunting sound of Stevie Nicks voice with Christine McVie and Michael Fleetwood playing behind her. He could easily imagine the smoke and fog appear at their feet at concerts as their beaded and faded clothes swayed around them in the cold dark while half the attendants did lines of cocaine in the back room.

Bob Dylan, Guns n' Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith, every single band that his brother completely avoided during the 80s was there.

He was able to listen to half of one of the boxes of tapes until 6:00 am the next morning, when it was time for him to get ready and dressed for school. It really wasn't necessary to go. Music filled his head even when he turned off the old cassettes, crooning and groaning as if in pleasure throughout his consciousness. He could have stayed for the rest of the day and listen to the tapes. But it was Thursday, Erin would be in the parking lot and he was eager to approach her today with his new found knowledge about something she really enjoyed.

All kinds of unlikely scenarios came around in his head as he got dressed much slower than he usually did. One ended with them chatting for hours on top of her car. The other, talking for hours in his car. And then one ended in driving her to his home and showing her the new cassettes he just got and Erin being completely amazed and mesmerized by the large amount of music that he had that she just so happened to adore. More likely she'd end up sneering and rolling her pretty hazel eyes at him as he stood there with a dopey grin and a box full of music while trying to get her to talk to him about it.

Jasper stood in the mirror, looking over his clothes, wondering if Erin would like the way he was dressed, and then raised his hand to his hair, pushing it back over his head. Would she find him attractive if he had his hair back, or shaggy and in his face?

The blonde picked up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder, trying to shake off the strange self-conscious feeling he had.

"We're taking my car." He stated to Alice, who actually looked surprised.

* * *

Erin leaning against her dented bumper, a large black umbrella over her head shielding her from the rain as she watched the small, dingy screen of her cheap flip phone for the time.

Like every other student in the school, they were in the parking lot, despite the rain pouring down on them. Rain never seemed to go away in this goddamn town. It might as well be the fucking plague, grabbing and drowning everyone in a square mile with it. 7:23. Seven minutes and it was back to class, back to worthless sociology and bad soccer in the tiny gymnasium. Hardly anyone actually used the football field for P.E. anymore. They'd even let weeds start growing in it, making it even more impossible for the school to win any actual game played there.

Then, the sound of an old, purring engine made her look up. An impressive, shiny black 67' Chevelle pulled into the parking lot, pulling into the lot closest to the school, where the Cullens usually parked. Playing through the radio was the loud sound of electric guitar, bass and drums.

" _I am Master, the evil song you sing inside your brain. Drive you insane!_ " " _Don't talk, don't let 'em inside your mind. Run away, run away GOOOOO!_ "

It wasn't until that yellow-haired guy came out of the driver's seat after the song was over that she realized she'd been staring after the impressive car. It made her off-blue 'Chevy' look cheap and unimpressive, which was more than a little surprising. Also, it ticked her off. Erin blinked a few times, rapidly, before stuffing her phone into her pocket, an impressed smirk spreading over her freckled face.

He came across her as a real nervous nelly yesterday, and that sour look on his face when he tried to finish that cigarette was almost pure gold. The short girl was surprised he didn't hack up a lung, because clearly that had been his very first smoke.

The bell announcing that classes had started rang out from the school, and she clicked her lock behind her before striding to the building, her chin up and her eyes barely acknowledging the other people that were in the hallway.

At lunch, three hours after the surprise Cullen brought in the parking lot, she had hold of the packaging to her cheap reheated burrito (the kind found inside any 7/11 refrigerator), an orange that wasn't ripe in her pocket and Caprisun in her backpack side pocket, when Mr. Cherub-Curls waved her over. It wasn't subtle enough, though the people around them were obviously looking past her to see who he was gesturing at. They didn't think he'd be gesturing to the OTHER resident weirdo of the school. Cute attempt.

Erin scoffed, crossing her arms as she stared at him with an expectant look, lunch forgotten for now. Jasper grinned at her, charisma and charm practically flowing out of him in waves. She could almost _smell_ it coming from the damn boy scout like goddamned gas leak. Then her annoyance melted away, so with a huff Erin walked over to the Golden boy, who even pulled out her fucking chair for her. Geez, she was going to chew this guy up and spit him out with a smile on his handsome face.

"What exactly are you trying to pull here?" She demanded, slamming and effectively destroying the burrito inside of it's cheap red and green plastic covering.

He shrugged his shoulders, his smile never giving up it's charm. "I don't know what you're talkin' about." A Southern twang showed through his voice, briefly stunning her with arousal before she went right back at him, teeth bared and fists clenched tight.

"Oh really. Then why all of a sudden approach me yesterday? And now that car of yours. What, are you trying to take my _schtick_ here, Cullen?" Erin asked.

"It's Hale, actually."

"Stow your fucking pleasantries." She snapped immediately. Everything about this girl was extremely amusing to him, especially to the Major. Barely 17 and she was trying to be threatening to someone who had murdered hundreds of people. It was endearing how despite her demeanor that she wasn't feeling annoyed with him at all, she was just as entertained by this conversation as he was.

"You should eat." Jasper told her lowly, his eyes gleaming darker as he watched her bristle up at the suggestion and at the sight of his expression. Sure, it was unfair of him to 'hypnotize' her, or whatever the rest of his kind liked to called it. But he liked watching her olive tinted-face turn a pretty red color. With other girls like her, he didn't even have to try to get them to blush and watch him with longing. With Erin, even just after the second conversation they were having, he could tell he'd have to work for her affection.

" _You_ should eat." Erin muttered under her breath, stabbing her bright yellow straw into the juice pouch she had, drinking from it almost violently, half of the bright straw being suctioned into her mouth, likely stabbing the roof of her mouth. But she didn't say a word about it. Only stomped her foot on the ground, making a loud 'CLAP' sound.

After lunch, he walked her to the History building, ignoring her extremely _vibrant_ complaints about his 'Boy Scout bullshit'. Before Erin had a chance to escape into her American History class however, he put his cold hand on her bare forearm.

"I'll see you after school." Jasper said plainly with a nod before walking back the way he came. He heard her grunt in confusion behind him, but kept walking through the groups of people, meeting with Alice at the top of the short staircase.

"Excellent, phase 2 is complete." She said intently, skipping down the stairs like she weighed nothing at all. Alice might as well have wings on her back, fluttering her around the school, her feet hardly ever touched the ground.

"Phase 2?" The older vampire questioned, adjusting his bag strap over his shoulder. "Yes!" She chirped next to him, skipping by.

"And now it's time to reel her in." The littlest vampire continued, making the fishing motion with her hands on a whim. "Then give her some slack. Erin'll come by our place on Saturday."

* * *

 **r &r**


	5. Chapter 5

**Edited 2/25/16**

* * *

Jasper approached her at her car after classes when she was shoving her jingling backpack into the back seat, where a few empty forgotten soda bottles and hamburger wrappers were resting like they'd been there for a while. Erin pulled out of the back seat, her back bent at a perfectly curved way before she turned slightly, her brief shock and fear slamming against him as she jumped and braced her hands down against her rusted roof. Now anger, rushing up and down, the power of it arousing the monster at the back of his mind.

"What the hell did I tell you? Get a goddamn bell! NOW!" She glared at him through her sunglasses after her outburst, pushing her seat back to it's proper position with a shuddering thump. He could smell the faux-leather of her car much thicker now. Her car desperately needed a cleaning, it wasn't as attractive as the scent she carried around with her. This was just pure old stink.

He grinned down at her. "I'll get right on it ma'am." Jasper had to hold his breath until the wind changed it's direction.

Erin let out an annoyed breath and turned around, her hand on top of her window. "What's with you anyway, Golden boy? Since when do you or _any_ of you really come down from your goddamn high pedestal?" She drawled, picking her keys out of her pocket. He could see himself in her plastic sunglasses.

"We don't have pedestals." Jasper told her, placing his hand on top of her rusted car. He pretended not to notice her annoyance at his touch. "Here's the secret: We're freaks just like you, honey." He leaned in to whisper to her. Her smell caused his venom to rush through him with excitement in unreasonable quantities that burned his throat worse than a chemical fire. She wasn't exactly what you'd call appetizing, like other humans, so it wasn't as hard to be so close to her, but she still made him want to mark her skin.

The brown haired girl shrugged, turning her head to where the rest of his family was watching them near his Chevelle and Rosalie's red convertible.

"You've got nice wheels."

Jasper's eyes darted to his car, where Alice was sitting delicately on top of it talking to Rosalie. "Thank you. I put her together myself." He said, pulling his eyes away from it and back to her freckled face.

"Oh really? What year is she?"

"1967. She was sad, broken down when I found her. Clutch dead, engine rusted over, frame was a county-fair pretzel." Jasper told her, putting his hands in his pockets when a breeze came by. He couldn't feel it, but he saw her hair move with it and feigned a small shiver. The tip of her nose was turning pink with the chill. It'd likely snow tonight. It was the middle of November.

"Sounds like a pain in the ass." Erin said crudely, her hand pushing her hair behind her and out of her face, making several brown strands poof out oddly from her touch. He could hear Rosalie make a rude comment about her from across the lot, but Alice shushed her harshly.

"It was. But I saw what she could be." Jasper leaned against the door of her old blue car, watching it in his minds eye turn to a shiny cobalt with brand new rims and black tires. "It took eight months to get her working perfectly." He wasn't lying either. It took a while to find an engine that would fit inside her just right. He had to special order it and wait for it to be made for him from scratch.

"Well she looks fine." She said plainly, putting one leg inside her car, prepared to leave.

"You should check her out sometime. You live just down the road from me. Stop by, won't cha?" Jasper drawled, backing away before she could refuse him outright and quickly walked over to Alice, who jumped down from the hood and onto the pavement with two loud 'clacks' of her heels.

"I'm so proud of you!" The littlest vampire beamed at him, taking his arm.

"Yeah great, he just invited an annoying bitch of a human over to our house." Rosalie said with hostility, watching Erin's car drive out of the parking lot with Queen blaring out of her crappy stereo.

His eyes darkened until they were pitch black. "One more word about her Rosalie, and you'll be the next one ripped apart." The Major narrowed his eyes at her, his voice a stern warning to his fellow blonde. He could feel her fear, which satisfied him. Alice put her hand on his scarred forearm.

"Of course she won't, Major. She'd never try to threaten one of your interests." She assured him. He nodded once briskly after a moment of staring her down and got into his Chevelle, the door shuddering as he pulled it behind him.

* * *

He was a few yards away from her house, straddling an old tree as he watched her fiddle around in the kitchen.

She was emptying out a can of soup into a black saucepan. It was grey-green looking and had chunks of orange in it. It looked awful but she just poured milk into it and let it heat up and steam on the stove. Erin was wearing a dress right now. A loose, dark magenta dress that looked like it used to be longer, but was sloppily trimmed to her knees. It was completely ordinary, with nothing special about it whatsoever besides it's bad tailoring. But on her, letting him see her legs underneath it, it was his favorite article of clothing he'd seen.

He hunted before he came. The Major took down a puma, rare for the area and had faded after draining it and sat contentedly in the back of his mind as he too watched Erin from the tree line.

Her music was playing now, unlike the last time he visited her home. It was haunting, but the guitar and drums that played fit the music that she enjoyed listening to. Her emotions were in the same roller coaster as she stirred up the odd looking soup, the concoction looking like it was about to boil over completely. The corner of his mouth up drew with amusement. Esme would have a fit if she ever thought someone was about to consume something that looked like it could be dissolved paper and glue.

" _So I'm back, to the velvet... underground._ _Back to the floor that I love. To a room with some lace and paper flowers._ "

" _Back to the gypsy... That I was... To the gypsy... That I was.._ "

Her phone ringed, the annoying chime chime chime-ing getting her attention and destroying her roller coaster of emotions only to be replaced by a flat, singular one of dread.

Erin snatched it up, flipping it open and pressing it to her ear. "Hello?" She sighed into the speaker. He listened intently for who was on the other line.

"Hey, I won't be coming home tonight. You can make yourself dinner tonight right?" A woman's deep voice asked. He didn't even need Erin's Mother close by to tell that she didn't give a damn whether or not Erin ate or not. Anger bubbled in his chest, his hands tightening around the branch he was holding. It cracked and broke underneath his strength. The sound make Erin look his way, but he was just out of her line of vision.

"Yeah, I'm already doing it." She told her, still facing out the window looking around at the forest just outside. A few times, her hazel eyes landed on him in the tree, brushing just over him.

If he could, he would shiver.

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow!" The beep sounded the end of the call. Her mother didn't even say good-bye.

Erin shut the cellphone and put it down on the counter and made to save the soup that was just about to burn completely. She only ate half of her unappetizing dinner. She tossed it, bowl and all into the trash can before retreating up the stairs to her bedroom.

Jasper moved trees, to one that was at least 20 feet away from the one he was in the day before from her room. He had just gotten settled comfortably in it, prepared to stay until she fell asleep, when suddenly she reached down and pulled off the dress, dropping it to the floor. Panic overwhelmed him, because _he should not be here like some goddamn Peeping Tom watching her undress._

Limbs stiffening up, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, once again breaking branches off the tree he was in. Luckily, this one was still alive, so it didn't give off a crunch that alerted her to his presence. He could taste the venom in his mouth, but that usual heat that accompanied it was surprisingly absent. Instead, it tickled his groin. Shame flushed over his body. God, if Erin ever found out that he was there she would _find_ a way to kill him with her bare hands. And he'd let her.

It wasn't until he heard her door shut that he let himself peek his eyes open. She was gone, the light to her bathroom was on, and he could hear the water running.

The blonde let out the breath he was holding in and tried to will the picture of her near-naked body out of his head. She didn't give him permission to see her that way, it was an insult if he took that from her. Gulping down the venom, he climbed down from the tree he was in and walked home with his head down, trying to think about _anything_ else before he saw Edward again.

* * *

 **r &r**


	6. Chapter 6

**Edited 2/27/16**

* * *

The next day he desperately tried to ignore the need to see Erin, instead letting the school day rush by him without noticing. It was Saturday tomorrow, and Alice said that she was going to show up to check out his Chevelle. She'd stay for awhile, long enough to stay for lunch.

He couldn't be entirely certain who was more excited, Esme or himself. His adopted Mother had rushed off to the grocery store with a handful of recipes, clearly planning on perfecting them before Erin's arrival late Saturday morning. Cooking was slow work for them, but then, they didn't sleep.

"Tell me all about this girl." Esme had asked as she flipped through the recipe books eagerly, a smile on her face as she watched him. He could feel her worry for him, both for his loneliness and his adaption to their 'vegetarian' diet. The first 25 years he had been apart of their coven, he had found solace in Alice after she had found him in that diner. But one day she told him it wasn't meant to be. That it was better if they broke up and went to being like siblings and companions. It'd be easier down the road, when he found someone that was meant for more than just comfort, but someone who would challenge, interest and meet him at every turn. He recalled destroying several acres of trees after she had left, his anguish spreading over thick like a fog to the neighboring towns. There had been a record number of people with severe depression that month.

"She's interesting." He had finally told her, leaning his arms against the marble island in the kitchen. Esme gave him a knowing look. Then, the Southern vampire stopped, his eyes focusing on the pattern of stone he was resting on. He'd had less than a handful of conversations with Erin, that lasted short amounts of time. He didn't know her favorite color, or movie, or when her birthday was.

That was on his mind all through the day, his frustrating lack of knowledge, he had almost received detention several times from his teachers. If only he'd had Edwards gift, then he'd know _exactly_ what was on her mind. What she thought of him, what she liked, what she planned to do that day.

Edward kicked him underneath the lunch table. He must have been angering him and making the rest of them anxious without even thinking about it.

"Sorry." The blonde mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing as he went right back to his thoughts. This time, Emmett clamped a large hand on his shoulder, leaning him over the table.

"Seriously bro, why are you so hung up about this? It's only been one goddamn week since you've known her." He expressed with his free hand, giving Jasper's shoulder a brief shake before moving his giant arm back around Rosalie's shoulders. His fellow blonde had smartly kept herself out of the conversation about his head-banging rocker.

"Give it some time." Alice added on. "Don't rush so much, you have plenty of time to get to know her." She assured him, putting a hand on his fabric covered forearm. She smiled up at him, but then Edward whispered under his breath.

"Oakes is getting the wrong idea." At that, the small vampire dropped her hand and looked to her food, biting into the apple on her plate. Jasper sent as much soothing as he could to her, feeling her panic.

Erin didn't feel at all jealous from what he could sense. Just curiosity and mild amusement. She wasn't interested in him, but hopefully she'd question him so he could explain away what she had seen.

* * *

" _It seemed like he knew me, he looked right through me._ "

" _C'mon home girl', he said with a smile. 'You don't have to love me yet, let's get high awhile. But try to understand. Try to understand. Try try try to understand.'_ " The elderly radio played statically.

" _'I'm a magic man.'_ " Ann Wilson sang out while Erin's feet slapped down on the leather of her back seat. Her head was thrown back and her back was arched as the Heart song played out. It was sixth, her free period, and like always she was in her car as music played. Some other students would choose to go to the library or cafeteria, staying inside of the school to get work done or hang out with friends during their free periods. But she'd much rather ignore everyone around her and evacuate the building to the sanctuary that was her car.

Her old Mustang needed work, definitely. The bumper had dirty old dents and mean looking scratches, the paint was chipped and rusted over, her check engine light was always on (she'd covered it with a bright orange basketball sticker). Even one of her tail lights didn't work, it went out the last time she signaled to turn. Her father had built this old car before he was sent off to the military. Jessie always hated Fords, despite loving the style of the car, so he'd carved off the symbol of it and replaced it with a Chevy marker. He wouldn't want her to let his car fall apart... But who else was going to fix it if not him?

Erin used both hands to put her shoulder-length hair up into a messy bun, locks that were too short to fit falling around the back of her neck and her face. Her sunglasses were on top of her head. It was cloudy out, the clouds a swirling mixture of grey's that ensured, as always, a heavy rain that night.

She was hoping for a big storm soon. The rain, the lightning, the thunder were the most exciting thing about living in Washington, besides the huge human trafficking rate. Her Mother had been living here for a few years as a surgeon in the local hospital. Erin had been with her father in Sacramento after their heated and embarrassing divorce, because really she knew that her Mother had no care in her heart for her only child. She never hid her disinterest from her, and yet, she fought so hard with expensive lawyers to have custody of her...

But at least in the house that was always empty, Erin had storms and the thundering rain to watch.

It got very cold in Forks, Washington. She had gotten brand new rain boots the first day just so she could go running through the dirty rain puddles. She'd gotten sick more in the last four years than she had in her entire life, the flu every two months and a cold every other. It was no wonder the pediatricians at Forks General knew her by her first name (it certainly couldn't be from her Mother working there, after all.)

" _Winter nights, we sang in tune. Played inside the months of moon, never think of never, let this spell last forever._ " " _Summer over passed to fall, tried to realize it all._ "

" _Mama says she's worried, growin' up in a hurry! Yeah._ "

Pat pat pat, her hand smacked the leather seat that she was laying on. The bell would ring for seventh soon.

" _'C'mon home, girl', Mama cried on the phone. 'Too soon to lose my baby, yet my girl should be at home!'_ " " _'But try to understand, try to understand. Try try try to understand... He's a magic man, Mama! Oooh he's a magic man.'_ "

" _'He's got magic hands.'_ "

She got up, bracing her hands on the passenger seat, her eyes lazily wandering over the parking lot through her windshield when she saw a flash of curly golden hair and dark fabric.

"Achoo!" Erin suddenly sneezed.

When she looked again, it was gone.

* * *

 **R &R**


	7. Chapter 7

**2/27/16**

* * *

Erin woke that morning early around six, and the coolness of her bedroom outside of her huddle of covers kept her so. She let out a groan-like whine as she stretched lazily, her bare legs coming out from the warmth and awakening her further. Her window, as it always was in the mornings, was fogged up from the chill. Dew drops had created long lines in it, letting her to see the deep green of the forest beyond it. She even considered looking out with her binoculars to count the banana slugs slithering around in the dirt and moss.

She raised a ringed hand and rubbed the sleep that had crusted in the corners of her almond shaped eyes out with her knuckles, pushing herself against her pillows until she was sitting hunched over against them. Erin was tempted to just lay back down and laze about for the rest of the morning like she usually did, but she had made a plan for today, and she was quite the eager beaver to get to it. That charming-smiled bastard deserved it what she was about to do to him.

With a heavy breath, the army green covers were pushed off of her body and she threw her legs over the side of her bed, stepping over the clothes that littered her floor messily. Likely half of them were clean, the others probably were stained with paint or condiments. At least none were growing mildew yet. That was saved for December.

Her mother was probably already at the hospital. Or having breakfast with some no named woman with long legs that had somehow gained her attention that week. Whatever, no skin off her back. Joan couldn't cook anyway.

She padded down the wooden stairs slowly, her left hand on the freezing iron staircase as she headed towards the kitchen. She grabbed one of the cereal boxes out of the cabinet and looked inside. Empty. Great. There wasn't even a prize in this one! Junk. It was thrown into the trash under the sink roughly. That was the last of the actual breakfast foods they had. She'd have to raid Joan's purse so she could get some groceries.

A frozen corn dog was taken out of the freezer and was placed haphazardly into the oven. The coffee maker was turned on and was pouring out fresh black coffee for her. This was breakfast today.

It was eaten covered in mustard in front of the flatscreen in the living room that played the morning cartoons. Erin had already decided that she'd go find blondie's place without an address. She had given him no answer before when he gave the offer in the cold parking lot, so she was going to show up out of the blue in the same way he liked to do.

Jasper Hale was a fucking weirdo. Him and his family showed up just after she moved in with her Mother with his weirdly attractive family from Alaska. They hadn't even changed since that year. Sure, their hairstyle's were different, but everything else was identical. Hell, he looked like he was in pain most of the time, and he talked like her great grandparents. But he looked like some kind of angel, with golden curls and butterscotch eyes. Jesus, he could have been carved out of marble, he was so pale. His jawline could be even straighter and stronger than a ruler.

She hadn't spent much time looking at his face, but he didn't seem to have a single freckle, pock-mark, or scar. Hell, she couldn't even see his pores. Maybe he was wearing make-up, but she didn't see the tell-tale texture of powder. The only thing about him that wasn't absolutely perfect was his arms. He probably didn't know she saw them, but when he had moved his arms, she had seen something silver-colored shine in his skin. It was like a scar, in the shape of teeth, but the moment he moved again it was like they were never there.

He could have been an S&M freak, into all that biting and crap and that could have been what those scars were. If they were scars at all. They looked too silver in color to belong to a human being.

Erin brushed her sloppy mess of hair and cleaned herself up. She grabbed the closest pair of pants and top and pulled them on. A dark pair of capri pants and a low cut green shirt.

When outside, she shrugged on her large coat before getting into her Mustang, driving down the road.

* * *

Jasper had rearranged the furniture in his bedroom twice before returning it to it's original form. He had thrown some clothes on the floor, and laid some books open on his bed like the room was actually inhabited by a teenage boy.

He couldn't remember himself that well before he joined the Confederate Army, so he had no idea whether his bedroom had been as messy as his was right now. Maybe his Mother used to scold him about it.

Jasper Whitlock had a little sister from what he could remember, and two older brothers. His oldest brother died from polio. His name was Phillip. His second brother was named Patrick. And that was it. He couldn't remember what they did when they were little, but he did know that he had moved to California to avoid the War and to find his own fortune. He had a family afterwards and had sent him Christmas cards when he was training before coming to the battlegrounds.

His little sister was named Ivory, who always had her hair in one very long, blonde braid. She tailed after him, and he used to carry her on his shoulders into town.

The blanks in his memory frustrated him. All the time he spent thinking about his family, he could never get past those. He wanted to know if he had family still out there. If Ivory grew up and married a nice man who gave her a dozen kids. If his brother made his fortune. And yet he never once tried to find them, or even called Jenks to look into where they were buried to pay respects.

His minor frustration virtually evaporated when the sound of hard rock graced him. Erin was driving on the road to their paved driveway.

" _Just an urchin livin' under the street, I'm a hard case that's tough to beat. I'm your charity case, so buy me something to eat. I'll pay you at another time, take it to the end of the line!_ "

The guitar solo rang through, getting louder as her car got closer.

" _Rags to riches or so they say, you gotta keep pushin' for the fortune and fame. You know it's, it's all a gamble, when it's just a game. You treat it like a Capital crime, everybody doin' their tiiiime!_ "

No doubt that everyone in the house could hear her engine groaning and her wheels pulling to a stop in their open driveway next to Carlisle's sleek black Mercedes.

He restrained himself from running down the stairs to greet her, instead standing just behind the cool wall until she knocked. It was better if she didn't know they were expecting her, no matter his unending need to be around her, Rosalie would surely cry about the danger should she find out about their little secret they were holding from the entire town.

There was no need to bring the Volturi's attention, even by accident if she caught on.

She knocked rather than ringing the doorbell. The blonde counted to 5 Mississippi's before answering the door. He grinned down at her. She was leaning her arm cooly on the side of the house, her sunglasses on top of her head and her coat two sizes too big for her torso.

"Hey boy scout." Erin greeted him, her voice almost sultry to his ears. He could have sworn that his dead heart just gave a swift beat inside his chest at that sound of her. He held his breath.

"Erin. You finally stopped by." He said pleasantly, swallowing back the venom that had begun pooling underneath his tongue before pushing the door open even further, giving her the silent invitation inside. He heard Esme in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and fruit at lightning speed before she stepped inside. The stove was on, so was the tv in the living room.

Erin shrugged, letting her arm move back to her side as she walked past him and inside the bright open home. "Figured I could check your girl out." She said dryly, running her pointer finger over the small table near the couch.

Jasper followed after her, putting his hands in his pockets. "She's in the garage with her sister." Erin turned on her heal, her eye glinting under the lights. He walked her backwards into the kitchen where Esme was putting something in the oven.

"Sister, huh?" The smaller girl asked, stepping back from his taller frame. He could feel her slight intimidation at the sight of him. He could also feel a tingle of arousal, though he wasn't sure if that was hers or his arousal. Neither of them really acknowledged Esme behind Erin.

"She's adopted. Her sister is a motorcycle." He returned smoothly before placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her around to face the kitchen and Esme, who was holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. She raised a delicate brow at him, a smile on her face as she forced down a sip from the hot mug.

* * *

 **R &R**


	8. Chapter 8

**Edited 2/27/16**

* * *

Erin jolted when she saw the older woman, then sighed with annoyance, clenching her hands into fists. She couldn't even hear the woman breathing before she saw her. Fuck, did this family take training from a liter of cats? How to be as quiet as death in order to scare the ever-living crap out of her? She huffed before nodding to the woman.

"You must be Erin." Esme said to her warmly, putting out her hand for her to take.

"Uh, yeah I am. Hi." She replied awkwardly, taking her offered hand. It was hot from the coffee she had likely been nursing before Jasper had let her inside. She didn't know how to feel about Jasper's mother knowing her by name. Did he talk about her at home?

Behind her Jasper stepped a little closer. "She's just here to see my Chevelle in the garage." His hand moved on top of her shoulder, squeezing her lightly as if able to sense she was uncomfortable speaking to her.

Esme nodded and smiled at Erin. There wasn't a single wrinkle or grey hair on the woman. Not the slightest bit of proof that she had raised any kids at all, let alone five of them.

"Alright, well if you haven't had breakfast yet, I've got a frittata cooking in the oven." The older woman told her, turning behind her to pick up the mug of coffee that still had steam coming out of the dark liquid.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." Jasper took a slight hold on her large sleeve, leading her down a white hallway. There were a few paintings framing the walls. She thought there'd be school pictures. For a family of seven, there'd at least be baby photos on the walls and mantle, wouldn't there? Erin narrowed her eyebrows, almost smelling the deceit from the Cullen's home.

"This way. There's stairs." The tall, incredibly attractive boy opened up a door, to what she assumed was their garage. The lights flicked on and revealed the many expensive looking cars that were there. Jesus Christ, they could open their own goddamn Saturn Dealership with the amount of cars they had. She saw Jasper's Chevelle and his brother's Jeep and Volvo.

The most impressive was the dark blue Jaguar, the lemon yellow Porsche, and the row of three motorcycle. Two were racing, and the other was a black Harley.

"Damn!" She said after a moment, going down the concrete steps into the large garage. Erin could hear his chuckling echo in the cold room.

She had wandered over to the row of bikes first, running her hand over the Japanese racing bike. It was a lot smaller than the Harley, and was very shiny underneath the electric lights. Not a single scratch, it could have been brand new.

"That one's mine." Jasper said, alerting her to the fact that he was still there with her. Erin nodded without thinking about it, grabbing the handle and squeezing it.

"She's fine. I haven't seen any motorcycles around Forks, do you take her around much?" She asked him, turning the front wheel a few times before letting it back to leaning against it's rester.

"Not really, I haven't had the time to. She's been pretty lonely in here." His accent sent an odd shudder up her spine. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Erin refused to look him in the eyes. He must have some weird cologne on him that she was reacting to. Like that Old Spice commercial guy, maybe when he said it would attract women he wasn't lying. There was a top secret ingredient that turned them on. Especially when you put it on a hot guy like the one behind her. Ha. Dick.

"It's a good thing she's got her sister here." Erin mumbled, looking in the corner of her eye to see Jasper walking over to his Chevelle with his hands in his jean pockets. He was wearing long sleeves underneath his t-shirt, preventing her from seeing the scar-like shapes on his arms.

She tore her eyes back to the car.

* * *

He could feel her suspicion. In a way he was proud of her for somehow knowing that something wasn't right. She was quick about things like that. Knew when someone was hiding something from her. So he sent her soothing, soft feelings, trying to calm her before she had the need to grab him by the front of his shirt and demand the truth of him. If she did that, he'd spill the beans to her immediately. Let the cat out of the bag. He'd tell her the absolute truth, and that was terrifying. Even if she thought he was nuts, his family would grow concerned about her knowledge of them. Rosalie would threaten her again.

As much as it pained him to lie, it was better for her not to know for now.

The blond opened up the passenger door to his Chevelle for her. She scoffed at his chivalry and slid in, shutting the door behind her. The car shuddered, like it always did when the door closed.

He got in the driver's side, leaving the door open. He put his arm up on top of the seat. His Chevelle didn't have individual seating, it was just straight across seating. The back though did only have three seat belts, not that he, or anyone in the family who rode with him needed one. Hell, last time Peter and Charlotte visited, his brother noticed that the seat belts wouldn't save anyone from flying through the windshield anyway.

Erin was running her hands over the genuine leather seat. She was feeling awe, her distrust melting away into the background.

His chest filled with warmth and eagerness, a smile finding it's way on his face without permission. She liked his car. And he probably looked like a dope right then smiling at her.

"So you talk about me to your family, huh?" Her suddenly smooth voice sounded coy, which he found incredibly appealing. Erin had a beautiful voice when she wasn't screaming herself hoarse to the Scorpions.

Jasper let out a snort, looking down at his steering wheel. There were two hand shaped dents in the sides of it.

"You caught that huh?"

"You bet your white, dimpled ass I did." She returned, turning her body so that her leg was underneath herself and she was facing him. "So what's up with that? You talk about all the girl's you've only known for three days?" Erin raised a thick brow at him, her eyes staring right in his. He was entranced for a second or two at the sight of the rings of green that were in her hazel eyes. A human probably wouldn't have seen them at this distance.

Then, he shook his head before mimicking her position.

"No. Your Mother is a coworker of my stepfather. She mentioned your name a few times." He made up on the spot. More than likely, Joan Oakes barely noticed she had a daughter at all. But he was betting on the idea that Carlisle would back up the story when he came down.

"Oh really?" The look on her pretty face told him that she thought he was spewing out a load of bullshit. Damn, she was sharp.

"Yes, really." The blond said smoothly, tilting his head a bit closer to hers. He really craved getting closer. The Major was scratching at the walls he had put up, wanting him to explore the inside of Erin's mouth, or even better to take her in the back seat, let the windows fog up from the heat within. He was quickly shot down. That wasn't what he wanted, was it? Was that where this interest was going in Erin?

 _Yes, it is. If you had been focused on our own feelings rather than hers, you would have realized that sooner._

He, _they_ , wanted her as their mate. She was their mate.

That's why the Major was so protective of her in front of Rosalie, and why he felt that need to watch and be around her.

"Hey." Jasper blinked rapidly, unsure if he had remembered to do so in the last minute. Erin was looking at him oddly, her cheeks flushed charmingly.

"You just fazed out right there, blondie."

He reached to her and gently grasped her chin. She was warm. "Guess I was too focused on your split ends, sweetheart." Erin let out a loud 'Ha!', her smile reaching his cold heart that could have started beating again in his chest.

* * *

He joined her at the kitchen island while she ate Esme's frittata.

He also had a piece, for appearances. It tasted like ash in his mouth, but Erin gobbled it up, spearing the savory dish on her fork along with the fruit that Esme had put on her plate. The older vampire could feel Esme's intense joy at the sight of someone eating her cooking and truly enjoying it. Erin even had a second piece of it before he led her around the house. He showed her the library, left her to her own devices in the bathroom (the first time it's ever been used), and then took her to his bedroom.

Erin looked around for half a second before sitting down on his bed. He had left it made up and neat.

"Was this all a scam to get me on your bed?" She asked him cooly, putting her hands behind her head before laying out on it. That urge returned, and he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Oh yes, definitely. You're all mine now, the chains are in the closet." He teased her, his eyes running over her body that was splayed out on top of his bed. He may not use it to sleep, but now she had his scent all over her.

"Mmhmm." Erin grunted before getting back up, wandering over the things on his wall. There wasn't much besides a few things of memorabilia. But no pictures. There wasn't a single photograph displayed in the house. There were pictures of them of course, but they were all in books in the attic. They contained every school picture they'd ever taken, and every picture that Alice had taken of them over the years. The eighties was the worst. Alice really enjoyed the bell bottom jeans.

Then Erin approached him. She took hold of the front of his shirt and pulled it down to her level, smelling it deeply. "Are you wearing something, because it's really been bothering the fuck out of me."

He had to hold his breath. She was so close, if he breathed in, no doubt that he would pin her up against the wall and turn her so he could keep her all for himself.

"I don't wear cologne." He told her, his hands bracing against the wall behind him, his muscles almost frozen in his attempt to keep from tackling her.

"Are you sure about that?" Erin let go of his shirt, putting her hands on her hips. Jasper swallowed back the venom that had suddenly began to heat up in his mouth. He wanted to claim her..

"Y-yeah I'm sure. Why?" She was likely reacting to him and the bond. Erin was very suspicious about him, and being naturally attracted to him probably worried her.

"No reason, forget it."

* * *

 **R &R**


	9. Chapter 9

**Edited 2/27/16**

* * *

Erin left after lunch. Esme had made tomato soup for her to enjoy, the same she had been practicing endlessly the day before. Jasper had to physically force himself to pour into eating it, trying so hard not to stare at her legs. It was rude enough, what if she had caught him? They spent the time in between watching television. She liked watching the news. She seemed to be excited for the thunder storms that were coming Sunday and Monday.

Which was why he invited her to come over and watch the lightning with him instead of going on with the plan to play baseball with the rest of his coven. He had plenty of time to play baseball later, he wanted to spend as much time as he possibly could with his mate.

Jasper laid on his bed where her scent lingered on his comforter, his romantic fantasies about his Erin entertaining him for a few hours or so before his phone went _RING-RING-RING. Vague jazz tunes. RING-RING-RING._

 _Alice,_ he thought bitterly, annoyed with his sister for interrupting his borderline lewd fantasies about his mate.

"Hello?" Jasper asked, aware of just how childish he sounded, but unable to force it out of his voice. Alice laughed, the sound like a ringing bell.

"Everything went well, right? What am I saying, of _course_ it did. Now it's going to be all smooth sailing! I've already picked up her winter wardrobe for Christmas." She babbled on excitedly. Once you wound Alice up, she just kept going and going like a twist-toy.

"Christmas isn't for another month." He said amusedly, sitting up and pushing his hand through the front of his blonde hair. Another tendency that he had unconsciously copied from Erin.

"I know, but she's much more of an Autumn than a Winter. AND everything was on sale and clearance, so she won't be as peeved at me for spending money on her. It's too bad that she and I aren't going to be friends right away, but she'll be fond of me by Thanksgiving!" Alice continued over the phone. He could hear the sound of paper and bags moving in the back ground.

"That's fantastic Alice." Jasper grinned slightly, imagining Alice with Emmett and Rosalie trudging on behind her carrying the dozens of bags and boxes she gained while she strode on ahead in designer sunglasses and a fur coat talking to him on her shiny black cellphone.

His poor mate was going to be dragged around the world shopping with that little menace of a woman. At least he knew she'd be well cared for in Alice's hands...

* * *

On Sunday night, the family was dressed, prepared to play baseball. Alice even managed to talk him into a few plays, seeing that Erin would be at the house late because she had trouble fixing the chains onto her new tires.

He had just gotten around the third base, Edward swift on his tail with the baseball outreached to tag him when he darted to the right and then slid onto his knees to the base, narrowly avoiding his brother's hand. Emmett cursed out at their adopted brother, mocking him with a huge smile on his face. It was always an odd day when Emmett danced.

"Whatever, you get that one point. But once Jasper's gone you're going to be on your stomach crying for your loss!" Edward said back to him, flipping them both off, succeeding in making them laugh at his embarrassment as he shook the dark soil off his back. Esme and Carlisle were shaking their heads in disapproval, despite the small grins on their faces.

"Which is now, Jasper!" Alice called to him from pitch. "And don't change your clothes!" She waved at him, gesturing to her own outfit of tight white baseball pants and top. He grinned back at her, taking off the baseball cap before shaking out his hair. At her playful glare, he put it back on before heading off to the house.

Like his sister ordered, he didn't change, even though he had the need to push his sleeves down further to cover his forearms, where scars shined up at him plainly. Erin wouldn't be able to see them in common light. But he did want her to know about them once she knew about their immortality.

When he realized she was his mate it was then set in stone for her to know. Even Rosalie admitted defeat at the knowledge, though he could feel her apprehension and tingle of fear at the thought of Erin becoming a vampire to be with him. Her own change was worse than any of theirs, but her own strength and confidence usually blocked out that sensitive part of her past. She preferred to forget about what happened to her.

But still, the Major was bursting with arrogance and pride at the thought of Erin seeing the scars that were bare on his arms. Their venom was the only thing that left a mark on them. The large amount of them proved his strength, his ability to protect and provide for her, something that the Major thought would create intense care and arousal inside of her.

He was likely right. The bond inside her would probably find his strength highly attractive.

" _Tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin! Til the Sandman he comes!_ " The sound of Metallica alerted him to her driving through the road and into their driveway.

" _Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight!_ " " _Exit light, enter night! Take my haaand, off to never Neverland!_ "

Jasper moved the gossamer curtain, seeing Erin pull her keys from the ignition and step out of her old car. She was wearing a loose denim shirt and black boots today. Her hair was up, and there was a black plastic woven choker around her neck. He let the curtain fall before she could see him, fixing his shirt before moving to the door.

Again, she used the knocker. One, two, three, four times.

Her scent of leather and shampoo was stronger in the damp air. A new one was there too, mint. Erin was chewing gum.

"Hey." She paused, her eyes looking over him appreciatively. Her rosy lips upturned in a grin, revealing pearly white teeth. "Didn't you know Halloween was last month, little Leaguer?" Jasper let the tease go by him with a playful smirk down at her heart-shaped face, really enjoying the way she looked at him. He never felt more like a _meal_ than just then, and he was thoroughly intrigued by the feeling.

Erin seemed to make it a habit of hers to make him enjoy things he'd never thought of before.

"Didn't you know that chokers belong in the 90s?" He shot, opening the door wider so she could come in. The blonde man didn't even notice when Erin looked behind her in order to see his ass in the tight blue jeans Alice had put him in.

She snorted amusedly, putting her hands in her huge jacket pockets and wandering into the spotless living room. Her eyes wandered to and fro, as if expecting his large family to be hidden behind the drapes and inside the closet watching them.

"Everyone else is playing baseball at the diamond. We're going to be here alone for awhile." He said smoothly, following her into the room as her eyes lingered on the painting on top of their marble fireplace. Erin removed her too-big coat, letting it pool around her on the black couch. Alice would approve of her outfit if she saw her.

"Your parents trust you alone in their, what, 1.5 million dollar condo?" She drawled, resting her elbow on top of the cushion, turning her head to look at him, her legs stretched out. They were covered in dark stockings, and he could see a tattoo on her upper thigh where her shirt had ridden up.

"What can I say, I'm a good boy." Jasper leaned over and swiped the remote off the glass coffee table, not once removing his eyes from her hazel ones. They looked more green than brown if he looked hard enough.

"Oh yeah." Erin practically _purred_ , dangerously. The danger of course was all on him, because he wanted nothing more but for her to be on top of him with her hands tight in his hair, talking to him in that low tone of voice that she was using then. "I'm sure you help little old grannies across the street, save pussy cats out of trees, the whole enchilada." She grinned again, her eyes turning to the television that he had clicked on. Desperate Housewives was on. One of them was freaking out over the body of her neighbor being stuffed in the freezer.

"That's _exactly_ what I did this morning, sweetheart. You caught me. I even had enchiladas for lunch." He said sarcastically, his twang coming out thickly as he tossed up his arms and leaned back in the black love seat. She laughed at that. It was high pitched, and more like a chortle than a laugh, but it made him feel like he was on air all the same. He loved her annoying, awkward laugh, and he loved how she wasn't embarrassed about how annoying it was. She acted like herself around him.

The thunder started soon after that, though he could tell when it was just one of his family members batting rather than the actual natural phenomenon.

Erin was on her knees, her arms resting on the low windowsill, her chin on top of her folded arms as she watched the lightning flash in the dark, cloudy sky. It was raining and hailing outside, the clumps of ice bouncing against the window in little ' _clink_ ' ' _clink_ ' ' _clink_ 's. He was too tall to copy her position, so instead he brought over the ottoman and sat on top of it beside her. He was half watching the lighting, and half watching her watching the lightning.

After minutes of silence between the two, only filled with the sounds coming from outside, she spoke up.

"When's your birthday, anyway?" As if they had mentioned it earlier instead of her bringing it up out of the blue like she was. He didn't know his birth date anymore.

"When's yours?"

"September fourth. Now when's yours?" She mumbled back, her eyes still trained on the lightning just beyond the window. He didn't want to give her the wrong information, so he instead told her the day he was changed.

"April sixteenth."

Another crack outside. It must have been Emmett at the bat, no one else besides himself hits that hard.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked her lowly, his eyes tracing over her profile. She was gorgeous that way too, from the dainty curve of her nose and the scattering of tan freckles that were on the bridge. The sensual curve and shape of her rose-colored mouth, her ears that stuck out just a bit through her brown hair. She didn't know just how tempting she was to him.

Everything about her was made to match him perfectly, from her personality, to her appearance, even the way she cracked her knuckles. It all sang to him in a way like no other.

She was looking at him from the corner of her eyes, her head tilted in a way that made her look striking, especially with the way her eyes were outlines with violet and black.

"Brown. But the kind that's almost like gold. Like those gross candies that Grannies always have on hand." Like his eyes, that were always darker than his siblings'. He could hear her heart. It was steady, but when he inched closer to her it picked up speed, his hand going over the windowsill close to her folded arms. His scars shined over his arms when the lightning struck, to him making them extremely visible. She might even be able to see the ones on his neck. All the times thousands of people have tried to kill him, and all the times they've died in the attempt.

Erin was growing excited, he could feel it everywhere. Jasper felt her attraction and his own merging and melding into one huge intense tidal wave that was threatening to pull him under and fill every hollow feeling in his chest. It was going to make him drown.

"What's yours?"

"Pink." Like the color that was becoming flushed in her freckled cheeks. She was getting closer to him too, but less sneaky about it.

"You're such a girl." Erin murmured, her eyes on his forearm, tracing over the darker hair that was on it and the silver scars that were shining against his white skin.

"I know you are, but what am I?" He returned lowly, his fingertips meeting hers on top of the cold windowsill. It was barely a touch, but just that brush of her fingertip against his and then his knuckle was enough to make the vague heat in his throat dissipate completely, instead melting to his cold heart.

"A little wimp who likes pink." She whispered back, her hand moving over to his arm. Then, to his surprise, she traced one of his scars. It was the largest one, that had sunk in the deepest when it happened.

"What are these?" Erin asked, her warm hands running over his arm and then pushing up his sleeve to his firm bicep, where more were littered. They were lighter there. It was harder for a newborn to latch onto thick areas rather than narrow, which was why his arms and calves were covered in more of them than his abdomen and back.

"I'll tell you another day." Jasper said, his other hand moving on top of hers but not removing it from himself. He still liked the feeling of her hands on his body. Erin narrowed her eyes at him.

"I promise." He reassured her, letting his gift wash over her, soothing her suspicions for now. He'd address them later. She let out a breath and returned her chin to the fold of her elbow, allowing their hands to stay together while she watched the lightning.

* * *

 **R &R**


	10. Chapter 10

**Edited 2/28/16**

* * *

On Monday, Erin sat with him during lunch. He asked her more questions about herself, what kind of flowers she liked (" _Asters_ ," Edward whispered from the table next to them when she refused to answer.) His mate teased him about the question and returned it to him. He told her that he liked sunflowers.

Jasper made sure that she ate the salad that Esme had given him that morning. It was drizzled in champagne dressing. Her foot was then tapping his ankle underneath the table lazily. During a burst of playfulness so he caught it with his other leg, trapping her small foot between his much bigger ankles. Erin narrowed her eyes at him and put her other foot on his knee, trying to pull out of his entrapment. His cage was too strong for her to get out of.

She scowled and kicked him lightly, though she wasn't feeling particularly like escaping him.

"Bastard, I'm not playing footsie with you." Erin grumbled, finally able to yank her foot from him. He was grinning secretly at her, fully knowing that she had been enjoying their private game, as she went back to tapping his foot. He could hear the whispers from the other tables, and he was certain that Edward could hear everyone's questioning glances seeing the resident rock goddess with one of the new weird kids.

Better to ignore it, like they always did at a new school. When he was focused on his mate, the amount of beating hearts and rushing veins in the room didn't bother him nearly as much. They weren't as important as her telling him about soccer in the gymnasium. Erin had played soccer when she was younger, she mentioned in the passing between classes earlier when he walked her to her room. The school she attended in Sacramento had a proper field, unlike the one that was overflowing with weeds here, despite the trimmings they tried after her (not really) subtle complaint.

The bliss-filled days passed and merged into another week. Erin began sitting with Jasper and his family instead of their private one that he had taken to when first getting into their friendship. He was content with simply being with her, listening to her and holding her hand underneath the table at lunchtimes (She had bristled with a strike of embarrassment at first, but then she simply pretended he wasn't doing it in order to speak normally, all the while squeezing his hand with approval. It made his chest feel fuller when she did that.) It wasn't long until Thanksgiving break would begin on that following Monday.

"You should come stay for dinner." Edward suggested to her, much to the surprise of everyone. Edward and Erin didn't get along together, they'd been passing insults to each other all week. Alice looked upset with him for likely taking her opening statement. She turned to Erin, her irritation fading before she started reaching over and taking her ringed hand that until then had been shaking her Gushers bag to get the sticky snacks off the sides of the cardboard package.

"You really should!" The slightly taller girl insisted, a dazzling smile on her pixie-like face. "It'll be so much more fun with you there! This way we don't have to watch football afterwards, the vote will be all for watching the Macy's Day parade!"

The other girl scoffed, her hazel eyes looking from Alice to Edward. "So you want me to differ the voting scale? Maybe I want to watch the game too?" Erin suggested, leaning back against Jasper's firm bicep. He was wearing a v-neck today, revealing the muscles in his neck. She thought she could see silver bites shining there.

"You said American football was stupid and tedious." He said to her, making her look back up at him with a sharp look, her rose-painted lips pursed. He wanted to kiss her. Instead, he grasped her face with one gentle hand, squishing her freckled cheeks together in an odd show of affection. She batted his hand away, her face turning pink. Humans faces typically got a deep red that was blotchy and made his throat burn. But with her, it was just an uncharacteristically dainty flush across her cheeks.

"Shut up, whatever." She blew the dark hair that was dangling out of her messy braids out of her face. "If there's stuffing, I'll find my way over there." Alice practically squealed, jumping over the table and almost knocking over Rosalie's soda bottle into her lap.

"This is going to be so exciting! Jasper can pick you up in Edward's car, there's a chance of snow that day. The weatherman said so." She let go of Erin and grabbed her backpack, whipping out a college-ruled notebook and writing furiously in it.

"Since when did I offer to loan my car?" Edward grumbled, getting an annoyed, squinty look on his face. Erin told him he looked like a baby that just ate a lemon.

In return, he told her she looked like she belonged in a low-budget play of _Lolita_.

* * *

Erin drove him over to her house after school, Motorhead playing through her speakers.

Jasper had his arms folded on the back of the couch, his knees pressed into the cushions as he watched her in the kitchen. More often, he found himself unconsciously doing things that Erin found attractive. He didn't act at all any different, he just stopped tucking in his shirts (Not that he did it that often anyway). He wore the tighter pants in his closet on a whim. He pushed up his sleeves, like he usually wanted to but refrained from just because of the sight of the scars on his arms. (Despite his assimilation into the Cullen clan, he could tell how nervous they would get when they saw them. It wasn't their fault for feeling that way of course, but it didn't stop him from hiding them up until that moment.)

Since his mate came into his life, he wanted to reveal more of who he was not just to his Erin, but to his family. And even more than anything else, he wanted to prove his own worthiness of her. The scars that littered his body was proof of his ability to protect her. She had already seen them, and he could smell the arousal in her body. Erin likely didn't know why she was feeling so needy. He heard her curse about it the night before when she was alone in her bedroom. He had to leave after that, her emotions overwhelming him.

He felt like some jock puffing out his chest to impress the girl who was way too cool for him.

She came back to him with a big bottle of Pepsi in one hand and a bowl of chips in the other, putting them on the wooden coffee table. The T.V. was playing an old episode of _Friends_. One of Ross' students said he was in love with him so he'd change his midterm grade.

Erin had changed her clothes after they got there. She was now wearing her pajamas, which were long sleeved with grey and white animals printed on them, with red rims and buttons around the collar, and red ties on the front of her pants.

"What time do you want me to pick you up?" He asked her after she got settled in next to him.

"For what?" She turned to look at him, her leg brushing against his. He pushed some of her hair out of her face.

"For Thanksgivin'. Tell me when you want me." Jasper said lowly, purposely using the double entendre. He was thoroughly enjoying her scramble of emotions. He was used to her rushing against him now. Maybe when she knew about them, he could figure out what was causing that.

Erin shrugged, leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. "Whenever. After you start cooking." She finally told him, tilting her head and looking at his face.

* * *

He was way too hot. It wasn't fair. In fact, his entire damn family was hot. But Jasper especially. This past week has been really fucking hard for her.

Just touching him was like touching an Abercrombie and Finch model. Well, an Abercrombie and Finch model who froze to death in the Frozen Tundra and just kept walking around for some damn reason.

She's never been so attracted to someone before. Not to her last boyfriend or celebrity crush. Everything about him was screaming for her. The way his hair fell in front of his forehead, the hooded looks that he had, even the shape of his hands. Hell, every time he smiled that goddamn charming Hello-nice-to-meet-you-Mr-and-Mrs-Erin's-parent's-I'm-Jasper-Hale smile it made her weak in the knees. And she's never been weak in the knees in her entire life.

She's looked up every possible answer, and besides the possibility that he's using voodoo to set her on fire, with the activation sign being the sexiest smirk she's ever seen on his way too pretty face, there's nothing left but bupkis. Erin was just a few hours away from grabbing him by his golden hair and asking him to fuck her on her Mother's couch. Somehow, there was no doubt in her mind about it. She was positive that if she did that, he'd do exactly what she told him to do and it was killing her.

He was looking down at her again. His eyes were almost black as his eyes met hers. Her throat made a noise like a gasp, and she could have sworn that he heard it. But that was physically impossible, they weren't close enough for him to hear her. Right?

Jasper's hand was sliding up her arm. It didn't even feel weird for him to be doing that. And that's what was making her question everything about this way too hot guy and his way too hot family. Erin scooted closer to him, half on his lap as suddenly the tip of his nose was brushing against hers. Even that part of him was cold. His breath was cool on her face.

Then, her most important question came out.

"What the hell are you?"

* * *

 **R &R**


	11. Chapter 11

**Edited 2/28/16**

* * *

He turned stock-still in front of her. Their lips brushing against each other when Erin breathed they were so damn close.

Then, Jasper opened his eyes. They were still that dark butterscotch color that sent odd tingles through her petite body. His hands had moved to her hips, cold thumbs moving in circles in her skin. He felt her calm against him at his affectionate action. He didn't even need his gift to calm his mate and that made him grin against her. She was reacting to him.

For a moment, he thought she had forgotten about her question. Erin had started pressing her lips more firmly against his, making him feel like he was walking on a cloud as the tip of her tongue swiped against his lower lip. She was making it difficult for him not to mark her.

"Answer me." She murmured after pulling a few centimeter's away. "There's no way you guys are real." Erin said again. She didn't pull away from him when he kissed her again.

"I'm a vampire." Jasper told her, his hands tightening ever so slightly, a bit afraid that she would run despite knowing that running away wasn't in his mate's nature. She preferred to approach a problem at the head. Instead, she started to laugh against his lips, her entire body shaking as giggles overtook her. Her hand patted against his chest a few times before she pulled herself away from him, traces of her laugh remaining in her smile.

"That was funny, kid." Erin told him, completely dismissing it to his dismay and thankfulness. Technically he HAD told her. And selfishly, he wanted to keep these few moments she believed he was normal for a while longer. When she did believe him, he had a strong feeling that everything about their budding relationship was going to grow extraordinarily complicated.

* * *

The next morning, Erin dressed consciously for the first time in months. As in, she picked out her clothes and actually looked at them before walking out the door. Not only were they not found littered across her floor, but they were also clean. A pair of very dark, tight red jeans. A tan, short sleeved knit top that was two sizes too small, and her dark brown work boots that still had dried up mud and grass on the bottom of them.

She would just scrape that off during her English class with her old yellow number two pencil that had seen better days, leaving a pile of mud and rock chunks underneath her desk for the janitor to sweep up at the end of the school day.

She put her hair up in two tight low pig tails with shiny round ball ties. As always, her hair that was too short to fit into the two tails framed her face messily.

For some reason, Erin couldn't get over the whole 'vampire' crap that Jasper brought up before he left the day before. He had said it so seriously, she almost believed it.

But that was stupid. None of that shit was actually _real_. Well, vampires weren't real. Or werewolves, or zombies, or fairies that kidnap your children in the middle of the night. Ghosts, and all that, sure. And that whole modeling clay scene from _Ghost_ was really interesting. But vampires? She'll call that 100% bullshit. Buffy or no Buffy.

Erin picked up her black backpack and left for her car, her keys jingling in her hand.

Jasper was waiting by his twin's scarlet convertible when she drove into the parking lot. They had left a space between it and Edward's Volvo, which she pulled into without a second thought, her stereo blaring out the light rock strumming of Bad Company.

" _Baaaad bad company. And I can't deny, bad company. 'Til the day I die. Oooh til the day I die._ "

The second she pulled her keys from the ignition, Jasper was at the door, opening it up before he ducked his blonde head inside and pressed his lips against hers before she even started to take off her seatbelt. His hand on the back of her neck, pulling her in to meet him.

Erin grinned against his cool lips against hers, kissing him back for a few moments too short before pulling away. She could see the longing in his eyes, and she was tempted to pull him into the car and make out in front of his siblings and the entire parking lot. It certainly would distract her for a good chunk of time, maybe it'd convince him to drive them far away somewhere so they could get something real fun to take care of... Who would be watching them to see, anyway?

"Jesus, aren't you an excited boy Mr. Hale." She murmured, her eyes looking up above her sunglasses to see him still extremely close to her. He was kissing her cheek now, then unbuckled her waist belt and helped her out. There was ice and dirty leaves all over the lot. Served them right for parking underneath a tree.

His deep chuckle made her heart beat faster. "I can't be excited to see my best friend?" Jasper's most charming grin was sent her way.

Erin tossed her backpack on top of her car, resting her arm on her open door as she watched him return to leaning against his sister's red sports car. "I'm your best friend? I'm touched." She said with a half smile, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head. He was just as stupidly beautiful in normal vision as he was from behind a piece of shaded glass. Bastard.

Jasper hummed reaching out his hand to her. Unsure of whether he wanted her backpack or not, she just slid her small pink knuckled hand in his large, gloved one. If possible, her boy scout's partially pained expression melted to complete joy at the public show of affection. He even ducked down and kissed her again. This time, on the crown of her head. Somehow, that just seemed like a clever way to pronounce just how short she was, and how tall Jasper was.

Behind them, Edward snorted.

* * *

At lunch, Jasper had taken to sitting on his mate's right side. He'd been on his own cloud nine all day, the mating bond filling his head more and more as he and Erin got closer to each other. Sure, they weren't technically dating, and he hadn't even brought up the subject to her, but he was very content with the pace at which things were going in their relationship.

Though he was extremely eager to get her back in his bedroom. She hasn't seen his cassette tapes yet, and he recently finished listening to all of them.

He was holding her hand on top of the table this time, and she didn't mind it. She was talking cars with his 'twin', who had been questioning her on why she didn't fix up anything but the mechanical uses of it. The bumper was still dented horribly and her passenger side mirror was shattered.

"I don't have the time for it to stay in the shop. I need to drive it everyday. With the amount that's wrong with it, it would have stay at a mechanics for longer than we have holiday break. Rather just wait until summer vacation." Erin said, stabbing a cherry tomato that was in the tubberware with the plastic fork in her hand. Esme seemed to enjoy packing her salads and soups. The hot thermos was sitting empty next to her juice box.

"That's no good, sweetheart." He chided her, his hand moving from hers to tug a bit on her ear lobe. "I'll drive you to school. Leave your car at the mechanic's, the poor girl looks like death is about to warm over." Erin clicked her white teeth at him in a bite-threat for grabbing her ear.

"What about the gas?"

"Carpooling _saves_ gas, darlin'. It's why we ride together instead of taking our separate cars." Erin sighed and hooked her pinky in the arm loop of his dark coat, the fabric pulling against the shiny blue button.

"Fine. But if I hear a single Britney Spears song, I'm walking to school. Capische?" She looked not only to him, but to Edward and Alice. They were the main suspects, he assumed. Not that she was really that wrong. Edward enjoyed the new age of pop music. Alice liked anything that she could dance to.

"I'm looking at you Eddie. You're one lower-back tattoo from being a girl in 1997." Erin shot at him. He blew the wrapper off his straw at her and in return, he got a salad-dressing covered cherry tomato down his clean shirt.

* * *

 **R &R**


	12. Chapter 12

**Edited 2/28/16**

* * *

On Thanksgiving day, after they had all finished their 'Thanksgiving breakfast' hunt, Rosalie suddenly spoke.

"I like Erin."

Then, she flipped her shiny blonde hair over her shoulder before she left for her room to change out of her dirty clothing. It came out as such a complete surprise that he had no idea who she was talking about for a minute.

Alice came up behind him, putting her arm up on his shoulder before leaning heavily on him. "I think she means she approves. And y'know, that means she's family now." She flashed a white grin up at him pleasantly. She was happy for him, but there was a heaviness within her.

"You'll find someone, Alice." Jasper said to her gently, putting his hand on her short hair, trying to soothe the pain in her heart. He's seen her longing for someone, but it's never been as bad as it was now. She probably couldn't even see her mate coming yet.

She nodded, her eyes downcast on the ground. "I know. But I want them now. Waiting for them... It's like waiting for my life to finally begin..." She took his other hand with both of hers. He knew how she felt. He had always been more distracted than Alice. Concentrated on his bloodlust, trying to keep himself contained from attacking anyone. It took up a lot of his time and thought. But Alice?

No, Alice, she wanted friends. Wanted confidants and a grand lover for her to show off and display to the world in fabulous Dior dresses underneath some crystal chandeliers in front of every President of the world if she could... Meanwhile he never needed anybody in the world truly until he had met his mate... Now, he couldn't imagine putting anything above her. His Erin, his girl who banged on her steering wheel when listening to Def Leppard.

His sister cleared her throat and patted his back. "Well, we've got a guest coming and we have to have the house perfect! So ahem.." She left him quickly, heading to the attic where decorations were stored.

Jasper returned to his bedroom to get dressed before fetching Erin.

* * *

" _Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don't have very long!_ " " _OOHH!_ _The jig is up the news is out they've finally found me._ _The renegade who had it made retrieved for a bounty!_ "

" _Never more to go astray._ _This will be the end today of the wanted man!_ " Jasper's stereo played. He had installed an old cassette player inside his Chevy, and now it played whatever music he wanted. (He had put a case of his favorite cassettes in the backseat, and Erin liked the Styx tape that he already had playing when he came to pick her up.)

She was smacking her hands on her supple thighs to the beat, and he was tapping the steering wheel with his palm with a dazed smile on his face. It was really nice having Erin was happy, being there in the car with him just listening to music. It was just a small moment of peace, with him taking small looks at her, and her looking his way when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

Love felt better than anything else he'd ever experienced before.

Pulling into the garage and leading her inside of the house, he already knew that Esme and Carlisle were in the kitchen cooking (Which was what that strong smell of sage and cinnamon was), Emmett and Edward were watching the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, and Alice was setting the table.

"I hope you guys didn't dress up." She said before he took her big wine-colored coat from her to hang up on the coat rack. Erin was dressed in fall colors, and Alice was right, they made her look beautiful.

Her olive shirt didn't quite cover her torso, and she had on an out of date brown suede skirt that had shiny metal buttons down the front and had been cut and sewn short to her stocking covered thighs. Her hair was even brushed and neat in a pony tail, so he could see her creamy throat and the brown hair that was too short to fit in her hairstyle against the back of her neck.

Little sparkly red stones were in her ears, her other piercings were empty.

Erin scraped her short brown boots against the 'Goodbye' mat before putting her hands behind her head and letting him lead her, despite her knowing her way well around their house from the past week.

"Sup squirt?" Emmett greeted her when they passed into the living room. Erin gave him a wiry smile at the huge Patriot jersey he was wearing.

"Call me that again. Dare yah." She deadpanned, sitting down next to the giant boy, Jasper taking the love seat next to her. Emmett immediately turned to them both, gesturing wildly with his massive, muscular hands.

"Will you FINALLY side with the game? I don't want to have to watching the goddamn Macy's Day Parade AGAIN! If you've seen it once, you've seen it a thousand times, but there's no telling who could win this game!" He said loudly, his eyes darting towards Alice suspiciously. And indeed, she had a smirk on her face as she set out the silver on the tablecloth.

"I'm all for the game. Betting on the New York Giants." Jasper contended, his grin widening when he felt Emmett's panic and frustration. He once again was looking at Alice, as if trying to figure out if she had blabbed the winner or not.

"You hate New York. And the Giants." Edward accused, though there was a half-smile on him as well. He knew the winner also, but was never as fond of football as Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie were. He opted out of betting usually.

"Why do you hate New York?" Erin inquired lazily, tilting her head back slightly so she could look his direction. Her curiosity and her coy little smile was greeted by a low, shadowed look from him.

"There's too many people. They're too loud, there's crime." He told her, leaning back in his seat. His girl stuck her tongue out at him.

"I have family from New York." She told him before turning her eyes back to the television screen.

"That explains it." Edward said dryly, earning him a hard prod in the chest by Erin with two fingers. He faked an 'Ow' and scooted away from Jasper's little mate so that she couldn't reach over Emmett to 'attack' him. Their childish bantering and insults were borderline sibling-like.

Rosalie joined them, upping the ante to watch the game, beating out Edward, Alice and Esme by one person. Carlisle kept out of it.

Emmett whooped and changed the channel to the NFL channel, which was showing a few commercials before it started.

Esme and Carlisle were standing behind the couches, drinking what looked like wine out of glasses, watching them rather than participating in Emmett and Jasper's yelling and complaining whenever their respective team were called out or whatever it was that American football players were called out for. Erin and Alice looked bored, having moved to sharing the little white love seat while the others watched the television with rapt attention.

Well, Jasper's attention was half on the television, and half on his mate sitting with his sister.

When she believed them about them being vampires, he'd have to tell her about his past relationship with Alice. He really didn't want to.

It wasn't that he was embarrassed about the relationship with her, but he really didn't want her to know how much he depended on her to keep him steady after his change to animal blood, and how often Alice would lay with him for hours after sex because it kept the Major calm inside of his head. He also didn't want her to know about Maria...

A loud 'DING'! sounded from the kitchen, alerting them to the dinner that Esme prepared was ready. He could feel the half-hearted dread that his family felt at the idea of eating the meal, only to have to vomit it up later.

Alice skipped with Erin to the dining table, which had been decorated nicely with two ceramic pumpkins, tall red candles, and a vase of fall asters, sunflowers and golden babies breath in the middle of the table.

Plates were set and Emmett and Carlisle both helped set the food along the table, adamantly refusing to let Erin help with anything but fetching the sparkling cider.

The amount of food Esme made was more fit to feed 25 rather than 7. A huge golden brown turkey graced the head of the table where Carlisle was, garnished with vegetables and stuffing out the cavity. Two gravy boats with both light and dark gravy. A huge dish of stuffing, two bowls of mashed potatoes (He, Emmett and Edward were in charge of the mashing, which consisted of them destroying the first batch of them), cranberry sauce and jelly, green beans with crispy onions, and all sorts of other side dishes like candied yams with marshmallows and scalloped potatoes.

The smells were all familiar to them. For Carlisle, it wasn't personal, having been born in England before America had been colonized. He had only experienced the Thanksgiving sales and holiday season from the outside after the holiday became significant to the public.

For Jasper, the yams were the smell that he liked the most. He couldn't put his finger on why they were important, but they were. Perhaps he helped clean them or he had enjoyed them when he was a kid. Of course, he couldn't remember. So he just put them on his plate.

Alice took the cranberries first, despite them being far from her. Her memory was also painfully blank. She could only remember barely-there flickers of her life. An exchange, her past for her future.

Edward though, DID remember. As he heard his siblings _try_ to remember the last Thanksgiving meal they had, he actually did remember one of his. It was before the Influenza, and he had just turned fourteen. His mother made green beans every year. He never had a taste for them, though his father, who sat at the head of the table, a polished tobacco pipe in his mouth, told him 'You'll eat those green beans and like em!'. His cousins would giggle at him during the meal as he dangled the green beans under the table for the dog to eat, and his mother would smirk and pretend not to notice. Instead, she would sneak him the raw green beans, which he would peel and eat the inside of.

So he piled green beans on his plate, topped with those crispy onions and forced them down his throat. Erin made a snarky comment about it, and he threatened to fling a spoon of potatoes at her. Esme scolded him from the other end of the table.

Esme's own Thanksgivings with her ex-husband were never pleasant. But when she was young and vivacious, she would help her Auntie make the gravy from scratch. It just consisted of pouring the turkey juices into a pot and thickening it with flour, but it had made her smile every time one of her family members complimented her on the light gravy after pouring it on their potatoes from the slightly chipped gravy boat.

"I think we should all say something we're thankful for." Carlisle said as he attempted to carve the turkey. Rosalie helped him, putting the pieces of white meat on a platter. Despite her delicate upbringing in Rochester, on one Thanksgiving her greying father stood behind her and showed her how to carve the turkey when she was 16. Thin cuts for the white meat, and thick for the dark.

Emmett groaned, and Erin whined.

"Hush. Now Edward, you start." Esme gestured to him over the stuffing, a smile on her face. While Edward attempted to make something up, Emmett was drenching his stuffing with dark gravy. That's how one of his grandmother's ate stuffing in Tennessee, because she couldn't properly chew with her old teeth.

Erin stuck out her tongue at the gross looking concoction that Emmett was making on his plate. The stuffing now looked like a greasy sponge. It was even worse when he shoveled it in his mouth. That was one way to do it, the way he ate made it seem like he couldn't even taste it.

When they got to her, she shook her head, placing the tip of her pointer finger on her nose. "Not it." So instead, Jasper went, saying he was thankful that Erin was joining them.

"You're cheesier than those Idaho potatoes." She accused, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed playfully.

He grinned back at her and hooked fingers with her under the table. "Thank you ma'am."

Erin paused for a moment before turning to the front of the table. "You guys wanna hear what Jasper told me a couple days ago?" She started. Edward bent his fork across from her.

"He told me that you guys were vampires." Rosalie glared at him fiercely. Not to stop him, but clearly trying to push him. Erin's mood seemed to fall when the thick awkwardness and silence greeted her from everyone around her. The entire table had their eyes on Jasper. And then her. And then Carlisle.

She narrowed her shoulders, her hazel eyes looking around at them. "Tell me that you're joking." Once again, she was greeted with more silence. Alice hummed uncomfortably.

Carlisle patted his mouth with his napkin before placing it on the table. "Jasper." He said firmly to his oldest.

At all their insistent looks, Jasper turned to his mate, holding her hand tighter. "..Darlin'.." He started, but Erin made to get up. She was getting panicky and made to leave, but he kept a hold of her skirt like a child to keep her there.

"No! Don' leave, we're not crazy, I promise!" He said quickly, his accent coming on thick as he tried to keep her there without resorting to hugging her beautiful legs.

Erin took a step back, and he followed. She was getting panicked at the sight of all of them getting up at once, so Rosalie got behind her and took hold of her shoulders, giving Jasper an opportunity to try to calm her down with his gift. But it wasn't working, it only made her freak out more from the sudden onset of unnatural calm that he washed over her. Erin thrashed in Rosalie's arms, trying to escape but only succeeding in hurting herself when she tried to kick her.

"Please, we can prove it to you, Erin!" Jasper said, taking hold of her shaking hands in his. This was not going well, she was _scared_ of him. It broke his heart to see fear in her eyes.

"Oh really!? How, are you gonna call your pal Buffy and Spike over here!? Well sorry pal, but vampires aren't fucking real!" She shouted at him, looking more and more pissed by the minute by the feeling of Rosalie's iron-vice grip around her.

"Hey Doc, you should subscribe your entire fucking family some Thorazine!" Erin almost growled to Carlisle, who was hurrying over to get Rosalie to release her.

"This isn't helping, Kitty, let go." He told the blonde, who let her out of her grip, only to have it replaced by Edward's hand on her shoulder and the doctor's arm around her back.

"Emmett, Alice, take Jasper outside. There's too many people here, she's going to have a panic attack if this continues." Carlisle instructed, watching his oldest give him a heated glare for suggesting separating him from his mate. His eyes were getting darker, signaling that the military man inside of him was about to _**disagree**_ with his leadership.

But nevertheless, he let himself be dragged away outside, Esme going with them.

Edward and Carlisle led Erin into his office, where she was given a paper bag to breathe into. Rosalie was leaning against the door frame, blocking the only exit besides the window. Just outside, the Major was there pacing, Emmett sparing with him to keep him distracted. Esme and Alice there to keep the Major from claiming his mate, keeping him rational despite what happened inside.

Erin breathed in her own CO2 from the bag, slowing down her heart until Carlisle was satisfied. He even counted her heart beats to make absolutely sure. He didn't want his military grade adopted son to think he wasn't doing his duty to make sure his make was safe. Even being the most intelligent man in their family, his emotions got in the way of him when approached with the topic of his mate.

"So, Buffy or Dracula?" She asked after awhile, resting her head on top of his desk which soothed her headache. Edward placed a glass of water on top of the desk next to her, a bottle of Advil too.

"Neither." Edward said, watching her raise her head to look at the three of them.

"And you're not all one french fry short of a Happy Meal? You're actually 'vampire's' huh?" Erin muttered, wearily eying Rosalie and the doorway behind her. Carlisle chuckled, putting away his equipment after sterilizing the pieces that he used on her.

"No, we're not crazy." He assured her. "And we are. We just don't conform to the media standards."

 _No, bats, huh?_ , she thought to herself.

"We don't turn into bats." Edward said behind her, making her flinch and look behind her.

"What?" Erin looked at him incredulously. _Did he just fucking read her mind?_

"Yes, I just did read your mind." He continued, his tone almost sarcastic. He was making fun of her!

"You prick! You sons of bitches read minds?!" She cursed, turning around quickly in her chair on her knees so she could properly shout at the mind invading asshole behind her. Her face was getting warmer with embarrassment. Goddamn, what did they hear!?

"Not all of us can read minds." Carlisle corrected her. "Just Edward. Some of our family, they have gifts that transferred over from their most dominant personality traits when they were human. Edward can read minds, Alice can see the future, and Jasper, he can sense and manipulate emotion." He explained to Erin, who was still holding the back of the chair tightly as she listened.

"Shit. You guys are actually.. I kissed a dead guy." She realized with horror, making a disgusted face, which Edward snort in a gross, ugly way. Erin gave him the bird for it.

"Wait, why the hell are you guys telling me this? Am I about to be bled dry?" She turned back to Carlisle questionably, who shook his head. "Then what the fuck? Aren't you worried I'm going to blab? Won't there be a fuck-ton of people with wooden stakes and garlic at your door ready to kill you guys if I do?"

"Will you tell?" Rosalie asked her. Erin shifted the chair she was in.

"...No." She finally conceded. The taller girl gave a small, pretty smile at her.

"Then no. You're not going to die."

"So.. Fangs or.." Erin started again, opening her mouth and tapping her short white carnivores.

"We don't have fangs. Our teeth are just stronger. We can bite through steel with them." Edward said, opening his mouth to let her see his perfectly normal teeth. She looked very disappointed.

"And the sun?"

"We don't burn in the sun, but we prefer to stay out of it anyway." He said, looking out the window suddenly. "Jasper wants to see you."

Erin sighed, resting her cheek on top of the wooden back of the chair. "Let him up." Rosalie nodded and the three... goddammit, _vampires_ left the room.

* * *

 **R &R**


	13. Chapter 13

**Edited by 3/1/16**

* * *

He was at the door almost immediately after she said she'd see him. With a small scoff, she realized that he'd likely been listening from wherever he'd been staying, with his super Vulcan vampire hearing. Jasper's hair was messy and his eyes were dark and bloodshot when she saw him. Like he'd gone through some kind of attack or emotional duress.

Swallowing what felt like the potential need to embrace the beautiful boy in the doorway, Erin scooted out of the chair she was straddling, smoothing her light brown skirt over her hips where it had ridden up and wrinkled.

Then, when she saw how he was still lingering by the doorway, looking at her almost fearfully, she scoffed and jerked her chin to gesture for him to come in already. He was acting like a rabbit now.

"This is your house." Erin grumbled, drawing into herself and staring at the wooden panels that made up the wall of Carlisle's office. Jasper began walking towards her and suddenly she was in his long arms, being wrapped up and held in a way that she never had before. Like she was everything to him... A surprised gasp came out of her, but he just kept holding her to himself, burying his face in her hair as he surrounded himself in her scent. Then, he sank down to his knees, his arms pulling her legs to him. It was only then that she realized that he was making odd gasps and sounds that was almost like he was choking out several sobs. This bothered her. It bothered her a lot.

"Jasper?" She asked a bit tentatively, putting her hands on his wide shoulders in a way to push him off of her legs so that she could see him, only to find that he had her skirt in a vice grip and his face buried in the corduroy in front of her thighs.

"Look at me." Erin told him, but he refused. "Jasper, _look_ at me. Right now." She demanded sternly, still pushing against him.

Gingerly, the blonde raised his head, avoiding her eyes. She pushed her hand through his curly hair affectionately. He wasn't so cold to her right now. He felt like a cool breeze.

"Since when do vampires cry?" She asked, her ringed hand brushing against his face. He looked like he did in school. Like he was in some kind of pain.

Jasper rested his cheek against her hand, letting his grip around her smooth legs loosen, but not removing himself from her. "You were scared. I frightened you earlier... I could feel you."

Erin tugged on his perfectly curled hair, trying to get him to stand up, but he wasn't having it. He seemed perfectly content on his knees in front of her, like he was in prayer. She let out a heavy breath out of her nose after she was unable to get the blonde vampire up off of the floor.

"You're upset cause I got scared?" She asked, without really needing an answer. "Blondie, I'm going to get scared sometimes. It's not something you should go off blaming yourself for." Erin continued, watching his face as she spoke. "Besides, in case you haven't noticed, I was more pissed off than scared. I thought the guy I liked was a fucking nut. I mean, the crazy ones are always good lays, but the after effects? Always gonna end up like a horror movie." She said, mostly to herself. But she grinned when she heard and felt him chuckle against her thigh. Erin looked back down at him to find him with that devilishly charming smile on his face.

Her heart started to beat faster at the sight of his smile, and her face began to heat up.

"So, get up off the floor, you freak." She said, her face turning pink again as she tugged on his golden hair. He chuckled once more before doing as she said. When he was once again standing taller than her, he took her hand and raised it to his lips to place a kiss there. His eyes were like butterscotch again.

"So you like me, huh?" Jasper said, smirking down at her. Erin rolled her eyes and looked towards the skeleton that was in the corner of the room. He pressed a kiss on her cheek. And then another, and then his lips found her neck.

"You're a vampire huh?" She said, trying to distract herself from his wandering mouth that was peppering it's way to the side of her neck. When he pulled away, she wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed.

"Yeah. I was born in Texas in 1844." He said, looking like he enjoyed the dumbfounded look on her heart-shaped face. "I was changed in '63, when I was nineteen."

"Jesus. You're an old man." She made fun of him, reaching into her hair to take out the bobby pins and tie that held up her neat hairstyle. It fell around her head messily.

Jasper grinned at her, shrugging. "I'll be a hundred and twenty-five in a few months. That's nowhere near Carlisle though. He was turned when men wore tights." He jibbed, enjoying this casual quipping with her.

Erin pushed her hand through her hair, keeping a lock on how much she wanted to ask him. "So did Carlisle turn you?" And there it went, out the goddamned window.

"No, ah. A vampire named Maria turned me. I was a Confederate soldier, and she took a liking to me." She listened to his brief explanation, and she felt something bad coming in her stomach. Especially the stiff way he spoke about this 'Maria'.

"Took a liking to?" Erin asked, narrowing her eyes slightly with suspicion. Jasper nodded.

"At the time, Maria was making an army of newborns. New vampires. They're out of control, strong because of their own human blood running through their veins. Twenty of them or so make perfect soldiers if you wanted to defeat another clan. But they're only useful if you can get them to listen to commands.

"I was the youngest Major in the Confederate Army at the time. I was evacuating the women and children of the town I was in, when I saw three women ahead of me. Maria, Nettie and Lucy. They had all just lost territories, and were trying to regain some by making an army. Maria changed me, and I was her second in-command. I was able to control the newborns she created with my gift, and I destroyed the ones that were past their usefulness." He told her lowly, his eyes avoiding Erin's hazel ones that were imploring for more information. "I helped her get Texas as a feeding ground. And I later helped her defeat Nettie and Lucy when they began to turn against her. I won her every battle. I defeated anyone who even thought about going against her. I thought she loved me." He said staring at their hands that were held together.

"But I was a means to an end to her. So I left. Two of the newborns I released against orders, Peter and his mate Charlotte, came back when Maria started to turn against me, and they brought me to the North."

"We separated after awhile. In 1948, I had just came into a little diner in Philadelphia. Alice was there waiting for me. She saw me coming, and we tracked down Carlisle that next year." When he started to push himself to continue about Alice, it almost felt like his throat was swelling up. He couldn't bring himself to tell her about Alice and himself. He was too nervous about her reaction. So he pushed it to the back of his head.

"Maria sounds like a total bitch." Erin said after he stopped telling his story. He choked out a laugh, slapping his hand on Carlisle's desk and nearly cracking it in two.

Erin huffed when he began laughing, crossing her arms over her chest, raising a brow at Jasper who still had yet to come down from his laughing fit. Now, she didn't want to ask him anything, if he was just going to burst out laughing. So she pulled away from him, drawing into herself as she walked around over to the door, ready to leave. But he came after her, taking her hand and gently bringing her back to him.

"I'm sorry for laughing." He said, though he didn't look like he actually meant it, which ticked her off quite completely. "I am." Jasper stressed. "But I didn't expect..." He let his sentence wander away from him, his intense amusement fading away as his eyes moved over her face. Then, he relaxed. "I have something else to tell you as well, Erin." He informed her, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles, adoring the heat that flowed from her.

The small girl rolled her eyes and made to move away again. "Oh great, more news. _Fabulous_." She drawled, but he stopped her.

"No no. It's important." He said. "And I have a feeling that you're not going to take it well."

"Feeling? Is that supposed to be a pun?" Erin quipped, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder. He struggled not to bury his face into her throat.

"You're my mate, girl." Jasper blurted out before freezing himself to the bone with his own shock.

* * *

"How much food did you make? Christ." Emmett said, scrunching up his nose at the smell as he finished putting the carved pieces of turkey in the tubberware. They had a tower of food-filled tubberware for Erin to take home. In fact, every piece of food that Esme made was in the tubberware, including two pies. One pumpkin, and the other apple-raisin.

"Hush!" She almost snapped at him, trying to ignore the talking of her adopted son and his mate above them. Edward even put on some music so as to drown them out, though that may have been for his own benefit, as he could hear more than just them talking.

Rosalie clicked the tubberware closed, putting it on top of another. "He's just told her she's his mate." She said plainly. Esme looked at her, concerned.

"How's she taking it?" The older woman asked with a grimace, walking around the kitchen island to her first daughter with movements that didn't have to be as fast as she had them. The blonde girl shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest like she didn't care.

"Well enough. She's letting him explain it to her. Mostly, at least. She's sort of screaming at him." She paused, listening hard for Erin's voice. Why Esme didn't try to listen for herself, she didn't know. A guilt thing, perhaps. Whatever. Rosalie put away the unopened bottle of wine away in some bubble wrap, carefully binding it with scotch tape.

"Erin'll get used to it." Edward said without taking off his headphones. Then, when Jasper and Erin both showed up down the stairs, both with odd looks on their face, he attacked. "Is the freak out over?" Edward asked her, returning back to their snide and childish insulting of one another.

"Depends. Are you going to fess up and finally say you regret that stupid haircut?" She returned without a skipping a beat, walking past him. Edward smirked at her response, looking at Jasper over her short stature.

This was the happiest they'd ever seen him, with his soul mate at his side.

"Crap, that's a lot of food." Erin said, seeing Emmett stacking the tubberware in bags.

"It's for you to take home. We don't eat, so it might as well go to some use." Carlisle told her with a kind grin. It seemed like the only one who wasn't smiling crazily at her was Rosalie.

Speaking of crazy.

Alice took Erin in her arms, effectively picking her up and twirling her around in her arms.

"Ack! Alice, I don't like being this high up!" Erin squawked, her arms waving wildly as she was spun around. She was put down, thankfully, and Alice grinned at her, taking her hands in hers.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so glad that you KNOW now. Now you can stay over all the time! Your mother won't tell you this, but she's going to be out of town for the next week so you can just sleep over!" The pixie-like girl said practically vibrating in her expensive shoes with happiness. Erin looked a bit distraught that Alice knew that. Then, she forced a smile on her face, a little uncomfortable. "Yay!" She said, putting up her hands and clapping sarcastically. The other girl didn't seem to mind, she just pecked her on the cheek and hooked arms with her.

"I should take this stuff home though. It's been a long Thanksgiving." Erin said, pushing her hand through her hair. _I need a cigarette_ , she thought tiredly.

Jasper took a pinch of her too-short olive shirt. "I'll take you home, darlin'." He assured her. She felt relieved at that. As nice as it was there, she needed to be in her own surroundings again.

Erin said a dry 'sayonara' to everyone and was hugged by Esme before taking one of the many bags filled with food. Jasper took the other four and even took her coat for her, putting the food in the back of his car and helping her into the warm wool.

They sat in a rather comfortable silence on the short drive to her house. Her mother's car was missing. It was 11:45.

Jasper helped her put the tubberware away, looking around the home that she was often left all alone inside of. There were no photos of her there. Only of her mother. It was like she didn't exist in her mother's world. Brushing away his anger, he put away the bags and told her goodnight. "Leave your window unlocked tonight." He murmured to her, kissing the corner of her mouth before leaving to go drop off his car. He was going to stay with her until she fell asleep.

* * *

 **R &R**


	14. Chapter 14

**Edited 3/9/16**

* * *

Erin left the latch to her huge window undone.

She had barely gotten one of her father's large, green army shirts over herself before there was a gentle tap-tap-tap behind her, scaring her half to death and making her curse loudly. The cotton shirt fell around her thighs, covering half of the large, tentacle-y tattoo on her thigh.

A deep chuckle greeted her as Jasper landed in her bedroom, arms behind his back while he watched her lovingly. No one's ever been so damn _intense_ when they looked at her before. Erin almost squirmed underneath his stare, his obvious feelings for her intimidating the human girl.

"I know. A bell. It's coming in the mail any day now." The gorgeous blonde said before she could open her rosebud mouth. She pursed her lips and sat down on her messy bed, tossing her clothes into the closet. The maid had just recently cleaned her bedroom, and she was quickly returning it to it's messy glory, clothes and shoes and wrappers surrounding it. When Erin turned again, Jasper was sitting next to her, pulling the corner of her shirt so he could see it.

"Whose is this?" He asked her, reading the words printed on it, his brow furrowed slightly in concern.

"My Dad's." Erin told him, fingering the fraying hem. "He's in Iraq right now." She mentioned shortly, pulling her comforter over herself. He helped her, getting underneath with her when she tugged on him shirt too. His shoes fell to the wooden floor, and he made himself comfortable within her little cocoon. He was incredibly satisfied at the massive amount of her scent. He was going to smell like her now.

"You didn't tell me that your father was in the military." He said gently, sensing the beginning signs of sadness about the subject of her father. He was willing to let it go, despite his curiosity. It wasn't that military fathers were rare, far from that. In their travels they had usually kept to avoiding the war zones and soldiers families, particularly the Gulf in the last 15 years. It was the kind of environment that attracted nomads. A soldier missing in action wasn't at all uncommon, and it was better to avoid the attention. Jasper liked that he already had something in common with Erin's father, and briefly he wondered if he was higher in rank than him.

"You never asked." Erin said simply, hiding that part of her away and burying it down deep where it couldn't be seen. The resting of her head on his chest lasted only a second before she began tugging on his jacket and shirt. "Take these off." Deflecting. His mate was bottling up her emotions now, trying to distract herself with him.

Jasper obeyed her without question, folding his jacket nicely and putting his shirt on top of it before he took her chin in his hand. "It's not healthy to hide what you're feeling." He advised her gingerly. To his surprise, she didn't jerk away or attempt to defend herself further. Erin just ignored his statement completely, which as more than a little annoying. Stubborn as an ass.

"What else is real?" She asked, straddling his lap and successfully getting him off topic. He slid his hands up her warm thighs to her hips, holding them to either side of himself. "If vampires exist, there must be more."

"I've only met a few other creatures besides ourselves. There are some shapeshifters down at the La Push reservation. And I came across a couple of spirits in my time." He told her, trying to think of a story enthralling enough to tell her. The spirits truthfully hadn't been that exciting to him. One of the few times, he was staying in a hotel in Boston a few years before Alice had found him. He had drained a girl that evening and when he returned to his room there had been a man standing there in a tweed coat and hat, facing the window. Even with his enhanced senses, the man had barely any color in him. Then he vanished. At the time, he didn't think much of it. It was intriguing, sure, but it wasn't enthralling enough for his mate.

The second time, he was in Death Valley. There was a cardboard box-like rundown house there that looked like it was about to collapse with the slightest breeze. He only stayed for three days before he left. He heard bangs and cries at all hours of the day when he was there. Humans likely wouldn't hear it so easily, but it had been incredibly loud and grating against his eardrums. It was unnerving to be feeling the emotions of the dead who were haunting the halls, which bothered him even more than the sobbing at night, so he left once the overcast was heavy enough.

He told her about Death Valley. As he told it, her emotions became that familiar roller coaster against his mountain, breaking off pieces of stone and dropping them into the water below.

* * *

Alice was a complete nightmare.

Erin was over that Friday after Thanksgiving, and right now she was being held above Emmett's head so Alice couldn't reach without jumping and risking damage to the ceiling.

It was Black Friday. And Alice was going on a binge, that for some reason required her presence next to her while she fought like a demon for handbags that were 75% off.

"TAKE THE BLONDE!" Erin shouted over Emmett's loud, thundering laughter as Alice continued trying to grasp onto her clothes and pull her down. She purposely avoided Black Friday for a reason. Better that then end up in Mall Jail again.

"Rosalie's already coming, but you have to come too!" She complained, trying to scale Emmett's back now.

"No! Those fuckin' bargain shoppers BITE, Alice! No way!" Erin pulled her legs up to her chest so she couldn't grab for her ankle. The large vampire who held her above his head was now moving around, trying to avoid his sister's tiny hands.

"Well you'll bite harder! Which is why you have to come! You're great with persuasion!" She tried to appeal to her, grabbing onto Emmett's large arm and trying to pull him down to her level.

"You mean death threats! Do it yourself! We'll bail you out of jail tomorrow after all the crazies leave." Erin said before shrieking when she was thrown to Jasper across the room, who caught her easily in his strong arms.

Alice huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she pouted. "Please." Erin grunted, turning away so her sad eyes weren't baring into her.

"Please."

The small girl let out an uncomfortable whine, covering her ears with her glove-covered hands to block the little menace out. Jasper chuckled and held her closer to himself.

"Please."

"Ugh! Fine, but I have conditions!" Alice instantly brightened, practically twittering in happiness.

"Name them!" She sang.

Erin's conditions had been that they stop at Toys'R'Us and the Candy Baron as soon as they saw them, and that she have complete radio control. A mix of Bon Jovi and Pink Floyd. Jasper came along with them, calming Alice down when she got too intense and freaked everyone else out when she yelled at the store managers, and then getting rid of Erin's nausea after being packed in surrounded by packages. And that was just when they were at Macy's.

Nordstrom and American Apparel were worse. There weren't as many people, but it was still too busy for her liking. Jasper had been holding his breath since they got there, so Erin decided to ditch Alice who was in the middle of a stand off with another woman so that he could actually breathe.

"You okay, blondie?" She asked as they walked away from the store to the parking lot, which was filled with cars. He was breathing again, but his eyes were a dark brown now.

Jasper nodded, burying his face in her hair to block out the smell of other humans. His mate's smell made it easier to block it out, but not to this magnitude. There were too many people. Too many veins. Too much blood. He lead her against the side of one of the cars, pressing her back against it.

"Distract me." He said lowly against her smooth throat, spreading her legs with one of his so she rested on the top of his thigh. Her breath hitched, and her heart beat faster. He growled when she shifted against it, the spikes of her arousal pleasing the Major who had suddenly become close to the edge of his control, eager to please their mate. Jasper let him come.

Erin's hand moved to the back of his curled hair, yanking him down to her level so she could press their lips together passionately. A deep rumble resonated in his chest, and his hand smoothly ran up her skirt, between her thighs, causing heat wherever his fingertips wandered.

"Fuck." She cursed, her hand tightening in his golden locks when he dipped inside her underwear. It was smooth, silky fabric, with simple textured lace. Erin bucked against his cool hand, making him smile and rest his cool forehead against her warm one, staring deeply into her eyes. He wanted to watch what he was doing to her, but at the same time what her expressions were. Her nose and cheeks were rosy pink from the chill that was settled in Seattle, and every breath she took came out visibly. He ground his palm against her, knowing exactly how to touch his mate instinctually. Then, he had an epiphany.

His little mate whimpered when he controlled her arousal, hiking it up several notches, and she began grinding down eagerly against his palm, tilting her head back against the car he had her against. He took advantage of the position and licked just under her jawline.

"Dammit, Jasper, we don't have time!" Erin breathed hotly, overwhelmed by the onset of sensation he was causing in her, but never wanting him to stop. "Alice will come looking for us.." She mumbled without thinking, her thighs trembling. The Major grazed his teeth against the delicate skin of her neck. Then he was shoved away by Jasper, who backed away from his overly aroused mate slowly. This wasn't the time, she was right. Anyone could see them. Better in his bedroom later than in a parking lot of a shopping complex.

"Sorry, sweetheart." The blonde apologized when she whined, kissing her deeply before pulling away, though not without difficulty. Major was scraping against the walls, wanting to touch and claim her in every way possible.

Then, the most diabolical smile came over her face. It almost leveled him, the sheer _hunger_ in her eyes. God, he wanted to be on his knees before her.

"No, I'm sorry." She muttered secretly, her eyes avoiding his face and instead looking over his torso and legs. Her hand moved over him, pausing at the rim of his pants. His arms visibly shook, braced against the car. The button was casually flicked open, and his zipper followed. Her hand moved inside of his pants, and he dented the metal behind her. Erin seemed to pay the sound no mind, more interested in the dark look on his gorgeous face and the almost submissive shine to his eyes as she grasped his length from the outside of his briefs, rubbing the cotton against him.

"So sorry." Erin said lightly, sounding cordial as she moved faster, ignoring his shaking arms that were on either side of her. She moved closer, taking his ear between her teeth and tugging on it. A dark, deep, _dangerous_ growl came from him, making her laugh.

She stroked him up and down a few times, listening to the sounds he made. Then, she pulled her hand out of his pants, buttoned his pants, ducked underneath his arms and started to walk away.

"Sorry, _sweetheart_." Erin called back, mimicking his accented voice before she skipped back to the store to find Alice there with her hands on her hips and bags up and down her arms. She tutted at her, disapprovingly.

The car's door and window was effectively destroyed.

* * *

 **R &R**


	15. Chapter 15

**Edited by 3/8/16**

* * *

Erin was asleep by the time they got back. It was dark, and she was clearly exhausted enough to just pass out mid-sentence with him. Jasper lifted his mate, taking her into the living room and wrapping her up in a big fur throw that was over the couch after removing her torn up shoes and big wool coat. Maybe one of these days, he'd talk her into getting new ones. They didn't seem to have any sentimental value, she just wore them until they got destroyed.

When Alice walked in the doorway, her arms full of clothing bags, she paused, looking their way.

Her former mate, turned brother and then friend, was attending to his soul mate while she napped. Erin truly was far better for him than she had been. The other girl was challenging. Headstrong. She made him look at things in different ways. Now, Jasper was smiling more. He was happier, he didn't hide as much from the rest of the family. He was more proud of himself, and the sudden leaps he's made. He could stand a crowd better when Erin was there to talk to and distract him, and now he was getting more of his own interests rather than to just go along with whatever everyone else was doing. He built things and worked on Erin's car secretly. He and Edward were getting along, spending time together.

She had seen him decide to buy a plane ticket for her father to see her during his shore leave yesterday. Jasper must have sensed how solemn she was about only getting to communicate with her father over phone calls and letters. It was going to be a nice Christmas when it arrived.

Alice smiled a bit sadly when Jasper kissed Erin's rose-colored lips gently, lingering close even as the temperamental young girl stirred and blinked her pretty hazel eyes open tiredly, squinting them closed again in reaction to the light of the room. She greeted him back by lazily running her hand through his golden curls and taking hold of his lower lip between her teeth.

She tore her eyes away from them and looked away, towards Edward, who was watching her with sympathy in his eye. Alice gave him a nod, telling him in her mind that she'd be fine.

The vampire took in a deep, steady breath before carrying the clothing bags up the two staircases through the house, filling her mind with mindless chattering to distract herself. Her own mate _would_ come one of these days. And she'd been ready for them when they did. But until then, she'd just have to make do surviving.

* * *

The 'sleep over' activities started immediately after Erin began to wake up at five in the morning. Her sunglasses were immediately put on in response to the morning sun in her eyes. She trotted down the stairs, pink pig slippers on her feet and her cropped top skewed over her torso, and tiny black volleyball shorts riding up as Rosalie led the way, dressed in her own silky peach pajama set.

Alice was waiting downstairs in a black nightgown, her short hair pulled into two tiny pig tails that was likely achieved with hair extensions. Esme came out of the kitchen with a pizza, putting it on the coffee table. She was also in a dark purple pajama set.

"Tell me that Emmett is around here somewhere dressed in a nightie." Erin asked dryly to Rosalie, who only smirked down at her and shook her blonde head 'no' in response. She pursed her lips at the lack of answer before resting her hands behind her head.

"Alright! It's time for the slumber party to begin!" Alice said, prancing over to the television and holding up three movies. The only human wandered after her, adjusting her clothes so they weren't oddly scrunched up on her body.

"First, _When a Stranger Calls."_ She started, wiggling said DVD in her hands like it were a hand-fan. "Then, _One Missed Call_. And finally, _The Strangers_." Alice finished, a twinkle in her yellow eyes.

"I'm sensing a theme here." Rosalie said suspiciously, crossing her arms as she moved to sit down next to Erin, who'd crossed her legs underneath herself and grabbed hold of one of the name-brand soda's from the coffee table in front of her. Miraculous at how much stuff was there, when she was the only person in the house who could actually digest food.

"Well hush. We're watching them, and you will all love it, and then we'll play some games!" Alice put the first movie in the player and sat in the loveseat next to Esme, who was smiling.

The movie began, and they all settled in together. _When a Stranger Calls_ was more of an anticipation thriller than an actual horror movie, so it didn't frighten any of them. Everything that occurred in the film wasn't anything that didn't happen in the original Urban Legend that inspired it, so they were mostly bored by all the running around and the stranger on the roof staring down at the track star heroine.

By the middle of _One Missed Call_ , the guys showed up with freshly golden eyes and looking more relaxed than the day before.

"Hello darlin'." Jasper greeted Erin, kissing her warmly. She was smirking back at him, her eyes hidden from him behind her cheap sunglasses.

"I could have used that kind of morning wake up call earlier, cowboy. Instead I got your crazy sister." She told him, patting the side of his neck before pulling away. He moved in to kiss her again, eager to keep getting affection from her.

"I'm sorry, Erin. I had to hunt this morning, there was a migration of elk." He explained, moving over the back of the couch so he could sit with his snarky little mate.

She paused, looking at him. "Elk, huh? What, no people on Saturday's?" She asked, stretching out a bit before relaxing casually.

"We don't drink human blood. At all." Esme told her from the love seat, where Carlisle was standing behind her, his hand on her shoulder.

Erin narrowed her eyebrows, looking at each of them. "How come? I thought you guys starve unless you pop a straw in someone's artery." The way she said it made most of them chuckle, especially Jasper.

"We found a better way that doesn't involve humans. When we drink human blood, our eyes turn red, and it makes it harder to blend in with the population. It's just easier with animals." Carlisle told her, an amused and fond smile on his face.

Jasper looked at his adopted father, feeling the man's fondness for his mate. All of the coven was fond of her. Even with her rude mannerisms, her childish fighting with Edward, her snarky and wild behavior and her loud music. They loved her, and accepted her.

Then, Carlisle cleared his throat. "Of course, when you're one of us, you'll have a choice. Human blood is more satisfying, and if you want to have it, then I can easily get the donated bags. You'll be avoiding the public eye for the first year anyhow."

Erin's heart picked up speed, all of them heard it. "What'chu talking about?" Her reference was ignored for the most part. Rosalie reached over Jasper, putting an arm around Erin and taking her back a little.

"You're my mate." The blonde told her, trying to soothe her anxiety without using his gift on her. "I can't exist without you. You understand, that one day.." He trailed off, seeing her push up her sunglasses so he could see her narrow her eyes at him.

"What? You'll turn me? What if I don't want to be a vampire?" Erin challenged him.

"You don't have to be." Rosalie told her, despite the glare from her twin. "You can just live your life naturally if you want to." Jasper moved to her, only to receive a harsh hiss from his fellow blonde.

Erin looked at her vampire mate expectantly, waiting. He breathed through his nostrils, not looking like himself in his eyes, but a more stern, fierce version. It was strange, but only a tad threatening.

"You can. And when you die, I'll follow you." He didn't even meet her gaze, just staring down his tall sister. His voice was thick with twang, and cold enough to freeze a latte.

"Die yourself, y'mean?" She roughly clarified, crossing her arms over her chest. Then, Erin scoffed, crossing away from the Hale twins. She wanted to kick something.

"Well both of them sound tiring." She licked along her teeth. Seems like there was no way out of it, but she had just started to get into a rhythm being with her golden boy when suddenly she was told that she was going to be just like them one day and that if she didn't, then Jasper would kill himself when she inevitably died from a heart full of carbohydrates and bacon grease.

A few excuses later, she was outside, sitting on the damp wood stairs, a cigarette between her lips as she struck a match. It was cold outside, and she was only in a pair of tiny shorts and a tank top, but it was better than being inside, where it was turning into a full scale war over her turning into a vampire. Erin had a feeling that it hurt like a bitch, and she's always fucking hated pain. She still hid away when she was about to get a flu shot, and demanded several lollipops and stickers afterwards.

The taste of tobacco greeted her, satisfying the craving in her throat. Erin blew out the smoke, watching it waft up and dissipate in the damp air. The smell of moss and pine was too thick to be dented by the smell. The green was everywhere, with frost and ice crystals clinging to the needles of the trees. There was even some ice on the driveway.

She blew out more grey smoke. Erin had taken up the smoking habit as a way to get her mother's attention almost two years ago. At first, it worked, her mother threw out all of her cigarettes, made a weak effort of hiding away the lighters and matches in the house. Then, a week later, she stopping trying to stop her, even when she did it right in front of her office, when she was in there.

Erin flicked away the ash and crushed the short lasting relaxant underneath a piece of red-ish bark, her hand shaking through the front of her dark hair before messily pushing it back.

"That's a disgusting habit."

The girl almost screamed from frustration and annoyance. Every single fucking time they did this shit.

"Could you try to clear your throat. Step on a stick, something, anything. Goddamn." Erin said gruffly, glaring over at Edward, who was standing behind her, watching her with a surprising lack of his usual mocking. In fact, he looked almost relieved.

"Sorry. I'll try to stomp my way everywhere just like you do and alert everyone in a square mile that I'm coming." He rudely said, sitting down next to her and putting his elbows against his knees, slouching just like she was. The human scoffed.

"I'm sure you have experience with that, alerting everyone that you're coming." She said, making him grin at her use of the double entendre. "You should really call Mr. Banner back, I'm sure he wants a double performance." Erin continued dryly, her eyes turning to the large array of pine trees that were surrounding the Cullen home.

"I shouldn't." He replied, looking over at her, a crooked smile on his face. "He was all hands, no tongue." He did a mock jazz-hands.

Erin nodded, going along with it. "I get that." She agreed, leaning against the wooden pillar that held up the fence around the deck. Edward hummed with her, also looking out to the greenery.

They sat like that for awhile, doing tidbits, and sarcastically messing with one another with rude and careful words.

Then, Edward said something strange. "I agree with your decision. To stay human."

She looked at him, considering him and wondering if he was serious or not. He shook his head, disagreeing with her thoughts.

"I'm not trying to advocate on Jasper's behalf. I mean it. I'm glad you want to _live_." Edward stressed to Erin. She put her hand on her forehead, as if nursing a headache.

"But I won't be allowed to. He said he'd kill himself." She muttered, glaring at a nondescript spot on the step below her.

"It's not just him. You're his mate. Once a vampire meets their true mate, they can no longer just go along without them. Their mate becomes priority over everything else. If you died, he physically couldn't continue on without you." Edward said, looking up at the crow that landed on top of the tree and was crooning out for others of it's kind.

"Are you serious?" Erin threw the piece of tanbark she had. He raised his bushy eyebrows, looking the way she had thrown the bark.

"Yeah. It's not something any of us can control. Carlisle almost lost himself when he found Esme in the morgue. Rosalie when she saw Emmett getting friendly with a grizzly bear."

Erin sighed heavily, putting both of her hands over the sides of her neck. Then, she looked over to him. _Will it hurt?_

"It will. But it won't last forever, and he'll try to make it as..." He struggled for a word that didn't disgust him. The one he found still made him want to wretch. " _Pleasurable_ , for you as possible."

He was greeted with a scoff. "I'm sure he will." She shook her head.

"They're fighting in there, aren't they? Jazz and Rosalie." Erin asked him, to which he nodded. "We'll have to make a deal about this." She muttered, roughly smacking her freezing knees before getting up. Her shorts probably had a wet spot on them from the stairs they'd been sitting on, but she ignored that in favor of walking back through the shiny sliding door, Edward following after her.

"Yo, Ken, Barbie." She snapped her fingers when she walked in, not even looking towards Jasper and Rosalie who were whispering furiously at each other. They both looked at her sharply at the demeaning terms.

"Fam-meeting or whatever the fuck." Erin said this all without offering any of them a way out of it. Even so, they all unconsciously agreed and followed after her into the family room.

Erin was sitting on the table, at the head, where Carlisle had sat during Thanksgiving. Everyone appeared there quickly. Alice and Esme had changed out of their pajamas, while Rose was still wearing hers.

"Fine. I'll do it." She gestured with her hands. "But it's not happening until we get the hell out of Dodge, and sure as hell not anytime soon. Capische?" Erin crossed her arms over her chest, looking over to where Carlisle was standing. He was the one who made the decisions at the end of the day.

"You can have as much time as you want. We're set to leave this area in the next five years anyway, once everyone graduates and we have a story." He told her, looking content to go along with her decision.

"Rational. Get a bathtub of ice or somethin' for me to hang out in while it happens, in case it feels anything like getting a kidney stolen." She snarked, making Emmett chortle loudly from his mate's side.

"Worse." Jasper said, speaking up finally. His eyes were no longer cold, or intimidating, back to being her dear boy scout. "I agree to your terms. We'll leave whenever you want me to change you." He assured her, though he looked sad that she was irritated with him. And she still was, of course. But he couldn't live without her, and she had to know that, not as a way to manipulate her decision, but because it was important for her to know about them. It was apart of being someone's mate.

"Good." She said with finality in her voice. Jasper practically followed after her with his tail between his legs.

"I'm sorry." He said, but she wasn't hearing it.

"I'm so sorry." He said again, just a bit louder, following her to his bedroom. When the door shut behind him, he was shoved up against it. She pushed him there, as hard as she could, though he didn't feel any of it.

"If you ever try to kill yourself, even if I'm dead, I'll come back as a goddamn motherfucking ghost and KICK your ass!" Erin shouted at him harshly, feeling angry and scared as she held him there against the weak wooden door. He was more struck by the shiny tears that were clouding her eyes but never once spilling over. She wasn't letting them come out, not ever. That roller coaster was back, and it was harder and more forceful than the other times he's felt it. It almost _winded_ him, and he hardly breathed.

She's been storing in everything. Keeping all her emotions stored up and hidden from everyone else in the world, all her pain and fears, and that's why they hit him so strong sometimes.

"I apologize." He murmured genuinely, resting his forehead on hers, his arms coming around her back and pulling her to him gently.

"Shut up." She muttered lowly, her voice gruff and thick from the tears that she was no doubt physically holding back from spilling.

"I won't ever try to kill myself. I swear." Jasper assured her. As long as you conform to my wishes. That was left unsaid. He inhaled her wonderful scent, holding her perfectly to his body. She was literally made for him, and fit just right against him. Two pieces of a puzzle. Two halves of a whole.

"We'll find out if you can be held to that promise." Erin said, going back to lay on his bed. Her blonde mate joined her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

* * *

 **R &R**


	16. Chapter 16

**Edited 3/15/16**

* * *

On Sunday morning, at 7 o'clock sharp, Carlisle Cullen left for the Forks General Hospital to begin the day. He's worked in many hospitals in his time, but his favorite had to be the small one in Forks.

The hospital was on the small side, and came with the strong smell of cleaning supplies and heavy bleach. The floors were made of paneled stone, in a speckled blue pattern, reminiscent of a bird's egg. It was bright, unlike the dark morning outside, with the clouds a stormy grey color, as they always were this time of year. The sheer amount of strange injuries in the small area alone were enough to keep his work life interesting. He's never seen so many skateboarding-off-the-roof injuries in a single town before. As well as the oddly frequent partially digested plastic toy in someone's stomach. There could never be enough warning labels on small plastic figurines could there?

He greeted the woman at the front desk, Marge, with a small smile as he headed towards the lockers for him to fetch his coat. As he passed several nurses, each whose hearts skipped beats at the sight of him, he overheard the sound of idle gossip on the other side of the men's locker room wall. The women's was on the other side, and he could hear the familiar throaty voice of Joan Oakes.

She was his fellow surgeon, and the only other person who turned as many heads as he did. Men and women both had their eyes lingering on the tall, pale-skinned woman as she strode through the halls, being all long, delicate legs and shiny black hair. She was a beautiful woman and a talented surgeon, but he found her self-purposeful and narcissistic personality rather distasteful.

Joan Oakes was a careless mother and an obtuse woman. Her daughter was an afterthought to her and it _angered_ him in a way he's never felt before. He would be proud and boastful to have a girl like Erin as his biological daughter.

She was a terribly bright, talented, funny young woman. She made his oldest happy beyond compare, and brought a smile to his own face several times with her silly short-temper and glamour rock obsession.

How it was possible that this horrid person helped create Erin was astounding. She must be much more like her father.

Carlisle pulled on his white coat, clipping his ID to it before leaving the room. Joan Oakes voice was louder now, she was getting closer to him. For once, he had a terrible wish for another living creature.

But he struggled to ignore her, her voice was so grating to his sensitive hearing.

"-of course! I'm so sorry that I couldn't attend for Thanksgiving, my daughter and I spent some time together, just the two of us. She's been awfully upset since her father left us, I thought it was best." Joan lied, sounding every bit the sorrow-filled mother. Wretch.

Carlisle broke the clip board he was holding right in half. It splintered terribly, breaking to pieces onto the floor, frightening several of the people around him. He ignored them and strode to where he knew Joan was. Her company had left her when they saw him approaching, likely frightened by the look in his eyes. He stopped right in front of her, as she flipped through Mrs. Johansen's medical files.

"Doctor Cullen, good morning." She greeted him plainly, not as entranced with him as their colleagues were, who had begun to flush and turn their heads away from him like he was the sun shining too brightly. He ignored her pleasantries, and she seemed to unconsciously know that he was very dangerous to be around just then, because she took a step away from him, eyeing him cautiously.

"I hope you knew that your daughter spent Thanksgiving with my family and I. Joan." Carlisle informed her politely, in a stiff, unemotional tone, watching the tall woman shrink away from him in fear.

She looked very confused, but not at all concerned for anything but her own safety. "Did she? Well, that was very kind of you to invite her over, Doctor." Joan muttered, avoiding his eyes. They were normally bright and golden, but now greeted her as a dark brown that were very threatening to look at.

"I'm sure that she had a lovely time? Carlisle." She asked, forcing her voice to be light.

"A better time than she would have had if she spent it with her mother." Carlisle was surprised at his own ruthlessness. He was being very cruel to this human woman, whose only crime was that she was a bad mother to his son's mate.

Joan narrowed her eyes up at her colleague, looking much like her daughter then. "Clearly. Sir." She hissed the word like it physically hurt her before she turned and strode away from him. Several nurses and patients alike were staring at him. No one had ever seen him being purposely awful to someone before. Already, it seemed like it was his side that was taken. It must be that Joan Oakes had done something to deserve the best doctor in the Hospital's harsh words, as there was no way that Doctor Carlisle Cullen could ever do wrong in this small town, after contributing so much to the hospital. It must have been Joan.

Carlisle swallowed dryly, smoothing back his hair before going back to his office and to his paperwork, feeling guilty and proud over the defense of Erin Oakes.

* * *

Monday morning, Jasper and Erin rode in his Chevelle, Kansas ringing loud and proud through his speakers,.

" _Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea. All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see..._ "

" _Dust in the wiiiind. All we are is dust in the wiiiiind._ "

It was hailing lightly already, the frozen water turning every human's face red in some way.

"Fuck hail." Erin grumbled, her nose and cheeks pink. Jasper's arm around her certainly didn't help, he was only a bit warmer than the snow itself. Better that they retreat into the brick buildings, where the heating was on full blast as a way to fight the freezing cold outside. Her boy scout kissed her, a pleased grin on his face as he was able to be as affectionate with his girl as he wanted. His scent was effectively mixed with hers, a way of claiming her without anything physical.

"C'mon, we'll go inside then, if you're so content with your hatred." He told her, holding her gloved hand as they and the rest of his family moved inside. They had expected rumors, but certainly not the one that was going around the school right now.

"Hey, Chief Swan's daughter is coming back to Forks." That had been repeated again and again through the halls and through the minds of the entire school. Charlie Swan's daughter was coming in from Arizona next Semester supposedly, sometime in March or May.

"All this hubbub crap about one girl. There's something wrong with this goddamn town." Erin said as they headed towards the library. It was the only building that was open before classes started besides the office.

"There's NOTHING wrong with this town, Erin. What at all could you be talking about?" Edward said, voice thick with sarcasm, making his siblings grin as well as they found a table in the Library to sit at. Emmett and Rosalie preferred to stand, leaning against the bookcases. Oh yes. The one town with vampires content with having this place be their permanent settlement. There could never be anything wrong with that, could there?

"Bet you she only has one nostril." She said, smirking as she mocked the girl they had yet to meet. Isabella Swan was likely to be one of those pretty girls that joined the big league of popular kids. Dyed blonde hair, mean streak, dumb. Or, what Erin was hoping for, someone who was goofy looking and had something that distracted the school from the other new kids, the Cullens.

"If she does, I'll give you a thousand dollars."

Erin took his bet, shaking Edward's cold hand over the small table. "Any facial deformity. One eye way bigger than the other, buckteeth, anything." She said, pointing at him with her ringed pointer finger.

"Fine. Deal. AND no help from Alice." He cleared, looking at where his sister was seated delicately next to them. She had a small smile on her face, but was consenting to not look for the girl's future, or even the Chief's.

Jasper gave his Erin a little pinch, making her yelp and in doing so, alerted the old librarian who shushed them all harshly, her old withered finger in front of her equally old mouth. The Librarian was never fond of Erin, who took to bringing in her cassette player whenever she stepped foot in the building. She disturbed many with her banging and writhing to her loud and deep rock and roll.

"You shouldn't place bets with us. He cheats _all_ the time." He warned her, his twang coming out strong when he whispered that last in her ear. Edward scrunched up his face, looking like he was about to argue with his older brother, but the bell interrupted them.

Erin groaned, slumping dramatically against Jasper's arm, dragging her hands over her face. "Ugh, I hate first period. Miss April keeps asking about why Joan hasn't called her back."

"Is she a problem?" He asked, his voice a tad higher, as if trying not to let her in on the fact that he was planning on having a talk with Miss April if she said yes.

"Aside from being a total whore, no she's not a problem. But she should really see a goddamn therapist or go to a support group or something." Erin ran her hand through his curly hair, which calmed him easily. He liked when she touched his hair like that. It was warming.

"I'll get a reference from Carlisle for one. And maybe you can get a haircut while we're at it." He said casually, holding her bag for her, darting just out of her reach when she tried to smack him for his smart-aleck-y comment about her hair.

"Asshole, come back here!"

* * *

 **R &R**


	17. Chapter 17

**Edited by 3/16/16**

* * *

The weeks before Winter break were hectic. Filled with stores and schools selling Christmas trees and garlands. The whole town already reeked of pine, the only thing to add was the thick and heavy smell of cinnamon apples. Christmas was a popular time in all small towns, but Forks especially. It was rare to not have a white Christmas. Every other day in early December it would snow and hail heavily. Snowmen were rolled up skillfully, and lights were hung up around windows and doors. The only thing missing in the small town of Forks were the fat fake Santa's on every corner with their bells to raise money for charity.

Poinsettias found themselves at every corner at the Cullen's house. Red and white flowers on the Christmas cheer, with Esme dictating every decoration of the twinkling white lights around the roof and trees. There were so many extension lines leading back into the Cullen house, it was amazing how they didn't trip over them.

The holiday season in Forks High School was more demure compared to the local Elementary and Middle School. There was a yearly play that no one attended, and there were Winter themed assignments given by teachers who were most thankful for the early break from work. Shiny plastic green garlands were hanging in the halls, with golden bells that would ring loudly that somehow managed to be heard over the amount of talking in the cafeteria during lunch.

It was all so... _Nice._

"You're a mean one, Mrs. Grinch." Emmett sang in a heavy, deep voice at the look on Erin's face. She looked rather disgruntled at the cheerfulness that was practically radiating throughout the cafeteria room.

"Shut up." She returned tiredly, giving him the bird before pulling her grey hood farther over her face. Unfortunately, none of Cullen's shared her bitter Christmas spirit.

"Why are you the sweet lil' girl who hates Christmas?" Blondie asked, a deadly charming grin on his perfectly sculpted face, as if that would get him his answers. Sorry pal, your charisma will only work so many times in a row. Especially after getting her over his lap.

"Bite me."

Jasper clicked his teeth at her in warning.

Erin topped off her cheap $1.50 hot chocolate, made with chocolate milk instead of regular before crushing the styrofoam and tossing it into the trash. The amount of people asking 'What do you want for Christmas', and 'Where are you going for Christmas' was exhausting.

Her mother was going on a ski-trip without her. Her father would likely call her on Christmas Eve, with the sound of the rest of his team behind him playing cards while drunkenly singing carols.

She already sent off his present. Most just pictures of the year, school photos and pictures that Alice and Carlisle took, a new Zippo lighter and all the junk food that he liked. The letter enclosed even told him a little about Jasper, since he was in a few of the pictures, looking as stupidly handsome as he always did. Hopefully her Dad wouldn't burn off her man's part of the photograph.

* * *

Esme insisted on accompanying Erin to the grocery store for her shopping, even letting the younger woman drive them over in her freshly fixed and painted mustang. It was a deep cerulean color now, with not even the littlest scratch in the paint. Sadly, her wheels had chains on them, detracting from her beauty. She was a beauty. The engine revved as she sped into a parking lot, pulling into an open place.

The supermarkets in Forks weren't so super. They were just small, short-staffed markets, with only one Safeway a few streets away.

Erin leaned heavily on the shopping cart with her arms, letting Esme lead her down the aisles and pick out much healthier versions of the things on her shopping list.

Freshly baked breads, prime cheeses, and large holiday meats found their way into the cart. Somehow, the things that Erin dropped into the cart, like cookies and the deep fried snacks she enjoyed eating would miraculously disappear, being replaced with yogurt covered raisins and low-sodium pretzels.

Was this what it was like having an attentive mother? Because at this point, she'd have to go out secretly to get her ramen and sugary breakfast cereal. How exhausting.

It was kind of funny, watching everyone's head turn as she and Esme went down the aisles. Well, they were more watching Esme than they were her. The other woman had the usual perfectly symmetrical, pale features and golden eyes. She seemed to favor dark colors, and was currently wearing a deep wine colored dress underneath her black overcoat. Shiny, perfectly wavy caramel hair cascaded over her shoulder in a purely feminine way that Erin had never been able to achieve past the age of fourteen.

The line in the store wasn't as bad. The ringer was a woman, and seemed to be used to Esme as she scanned each of the items as Erin stood in wait with an American Express card. Ding. Slide. Bagged.

Ding. Slide. Bagged.

The sound came again and again, and Erin had just started to let her mind wander when suddenly she was thrust behind Esme and down behind the wooden beams which blocked her smaller frame from whoever had just come behind them in line.

"Mrs. Cullen, hello, how are you?" Her mother's voice came from the other side of Esme. It was lower than usual, with it's own disgusting seductive tone.

Esme was painfully polite, her eyes almost as dark as Jasper's were.

"Hello Joan. I'm fine, thank you." Esme swiped her credit card. It was a clear end to the short lived conversation. But her mother obviously wasn't done with it yet.

"How are your children?" Joan was stacking up her groceries on the conveyer belt now. She hadn't noticed Erin yet, all her attention on the more beautiful woman.

"They're well."

Joan Oakes narrowed her almond shaped eyes at the other woman, tapping her sharp, freshly manicured nails on the metal of the belt. "Your husband said the most fascinating thing to me the other day, you know." Her matter-of-fact tone was sharp and cruel; She looked like a sharp that had caught the scent of spilled blood.

"Did he? Well my Carlisle has always been a very fascinating man, you know." Esme looked very impatient as the bagger put the groceries in the cart at what seemed to be at a leisurely pace to the vampire. No one was fast enough to escape this _devil_ of a woman.

"I can tell. He told me that my..." The taller woman looked like she was considering the possible word she could use to describe Erin. "Daughter." She conceded. "Spent her Thanksgiving break with you and your family. I'd like you to know that I never gave her my permission to stay with you for dinner. I appreciate that you let her, but I'd really rather that she not go over to your house anymore." Joan smiled at her with unkind eyes. "I'm sure you understand."

Esme visibly gaped at her words, and Erin watched, fully prepared in the case that her mother's limbs were to be torn off her body by her.

"I most certainly do not understand, **_Joan_**." Esme growled, her eyes flashing as she stiffened up and glared back at Joan. "Erin will always be welcome in my home. And a horrible _witch_ like you certainly will not stop me!"

The other woman stiffened up, and now as she talked, her white teeth were bare and visible.

"I'm certain that the law would love to hear how you're keeping my child without her parent's permission."

"Well then maybe you don't deserve to be her parent anymore." Esme hissed up at her. Joan seemed to know inside that she was faced with something more powerful and much more lethal than herself, because she took a small step back from her. The golden eyed woman almost smiled at the sign of submissiveness that she was given. Then, in that moment of the black-haired woman's weakness, Esme took the full shopping cart and strode out of the grocery store, leaving Erin to run to the other exit and meet her at her car.

The whole ride to Erin's house was Esme muttering and glaring at the cold building above her. Not a single Christmas decoration hung from it, nor was there a tree. It seemed like she absolutely hated the building and wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Hell, after she opened up her door, her groceries were gone one minute and then Esme was back in the passenger side, requesting to go back home as quickly as possible.

The short, 5 minute drive was the most silent and most awkward ride of Erin's life. She couldn't even think of something to break the ice, it was just so thick that it was almost choking her.

She pulled in next to Carlisle's Mercedes, and everyone else stopped and turned to stare at Esme as she angrily came in through the door, Erin meekly following after her.

Esme's angry, muttering tirade didn't stop until faced with her husband. She looked at him sternly, with intense determination, her hands on her purple clad hips. Carlisle barely had time to look concerned.

"I'm going to adopt Erin." She deadpanned.

"Oh shit." Edward and Alice said together, him watching their 'parents' stand quietly after Esme's firm statement while Alice stared ahead blankly into the future.

* * *

 **R &R**


	18. Chapter 18

"Al." Erin said, noticing her frozen stance, so she began walking over to where Alice was staring. Edward to, was staring at her, seeing the vision for himself. The vision itself didn't last very long, and the other girl blinked rapidly a few times before attempting to smooth out her short hairstyle, and then smoothing out her dress. Edward looked angry, a change from his usual self-hating expressions and mean smiles.

"What did you see?" Jasper asked his sister.

Alice looked over to Erin, stock still with a frown on her face. "Your mother, Joan. She convinced Chief Swan to come here to talk to you. She's angry, and keeps trying to say that Carlisle and Esme took you from her." She explained her vision, growing more angry herself. All of them were on edge from the threat that Doctor Joan Oakes presented them. It wasn't much of a threat, their lawyers were far superior and it wasn't the first time they've dealt with someone actively trying to attack.

"Chief Swan didn't look like he believed her. He's likely just coming to talk to Erin. She's seventeen, there's no law that Joan can bring that applies to this situation." Edward said, trying to gauge his parents reactions. Carlisle looked saddened, while Esme looked guilty, as if she caused this by fighting against Erin's mother.

"Even if there is a law, I'm not even a mile away from her fucking house! I haven't run away, I haven't done a single fucking thing that should have warranted a goddamn house call." The teenager roughly grasped hold of the beanie she was wearing, tore it off and threw it and musing up her hair as she started to pace. Jasper took hold of her arm, gently tugging her towards his larger body so he could soothe her. He whispered in her ear lowly, happy when her frustration was smoothed away by his hands.

He pushed her hair out of her face with his cool hand, feeling her heart skip a beat. Then, he looked at Alice. "How long until he shows?"

The pixie-haired girl looked back at him, gold meeting burnt butterscotch, her dark eyebrows furrowed. "Tomorrow. Before night falls."

Erin was stiff, despite Jasper's attempt at soothing her. She was pissed at her mother for trying to serve an attack towards Carlisle and Esme. They did nothing but try to take care of her, and now suddenly Joan wanted to be Ms. Stepford Mom? Fuck that. There were few people who could stand against her, but the Cullens were certainly some of them.

"I need the phone." She lowly muttered. Handed the home phone by Rosalie, who had been standing across the room with Emmett at her side, Erin dialed a memorized number before raising it to her ear.

It rang and rang, before being picked up just after the forth ring. The sturdy voice of her Grandmother greeted her, and Erin stood up so she could pace as she talked. Carlisle and Esme had already exited the room, likely to discuss the adoption between themselves, leaving the 'kids' alone.

"O bāchan? Sore wa Erin, watashidesu." She said in very rusty, American accented Japanese before hearing her Grandmother respond to her rather quickly. She spoke so fast that Erin couldn't completely understand her, only getting hints at what she was saying from a handful of the words that she could pick out. Erin hardly ever spoke in her Grandmother's native language, especially after she and her Grandfather moved permanently to San Francisco from Hong Kong, and before that Saitama.

"Yeah O bāchan, hey. I'm fine, I just wanted to ask you and Ojīchan for a favor." She switched to English in hope that it would help her better understand

"Yes oh co'are. Wha' is it?" Chiasa responded to the point, her accent making the vowels heavy in her words.

"Can you two talk to Mama? She's getting crazy possessive and is trying to sue one of her coworkers for no reason." Erin wandered around the coffee table, switching the phone to her other ear.

"Cray-zee? Oh co'are, your Ojīchan will talk to her. She trying to sue o'dder Doctor?" Her Grandmother laughed at her own question. Thankfully, this was something that her O bāchan could handle. Joan Oakes was a real mother fucking piece of work, so surely Chiasa Oakes was no stranger to her daughter's insanity.

"Yeah, a better Doctor than she is to be honest. It's a real damn jealousy-fest up here, Grams. You should talk her out of it before she gets fired and has to explain to the next hospital she applies to why she was laid off." It was almost a strain to not curse while talking on the phone with her Grandmother. Her Grandfather, sure. He'd laugh and go along with it. Chiasa would just get confused before scolding her.

"Yes, no get fired. I talk to her, Erin. Do not worry, I will yell at her." Chiasa laughed again before abruptly hanging up the phone mid-laugh. Erin scoffed with amusement and clicked the red button, tossing the phone next to Jasper on the couch cushion, setting her hands on her hips.

"If that doesn't work to get Joan to back off, I don't know what will." She said, her voice lighter after speaking with her carefree grandparent.

"I'll keep a watch on her decisions, in case she tries to do anything drastic, even after your Grandmother speaks to her." Alice assured the other girl, trying to look brighter now that he possibility of Joan taking unnecessary legal action had lessened.

Erin nodded, patting her thigh to the rhythm of Sympathy for the Devil. "Alright, well if there's any way to cut her off her demonic path, tell me. I wanna be the first person to dent her after Grams."

Alice smiled at her. "Of course. Also, you didn't tell us that you were Japanese, how come?"

The girl shrugged, sitting on Jasper's knee, since he seemed a little distracted. He immediately wrapped his arms around his little mate, pulling her a little closer.

"Yeah darlin', how come?" He rumbled from behind her, his arms effectively trapping her against the hard panes of his chest. She shifted on top of him.

"Because really I'm not that much. Grandma may be from Japan, but Grandpa wasn't. And my Dad is a caucasian mutt from the Bronks." Erin shrugged, feeling Jasper turn his narrow chin so he could peer up at her face. He was trying to find the Japanese traces in her face, wondering how he could have possibly missed the features that linked her to the country. Her hair was dark and straight, but that was a common trait among all humans.

"Your family genetics are very interestin'. You're very diverse." He told her, still looking her over, but unlike the many enjoyable times he had before.

"Yeah, I'm a fucking petri dish of DNA." She snarked, which got her a little pinch on her butt by him, making her jolt and curse. Carlisle came down around that time, Esme not with him. He looked very resigned as he approached her.

"When the Chief stops by, we'll try to smooth over Joan's accusations as nothing more than delusions. If she presses legal action we might have to leave, before it reaches any kind of press." He said with finality.

"Again?" Rosalie huffed angrily, smacking her hand on her thigh to accentuate her displeasure. She liked it there, there was hardly any sun, and even with the addition of the mutts down at the reservation it was better than most of the cities they stayed in.

"We'll have no choice." Carlisle told her. Emmett wrapped his arm around his waist, trying to keep his wife from hulking out, concern on his face.

"If we're leavin', then Erin is comin' with us. It'll be difficult, but I can make sure that her disappearance won't be associated with us." Jasper spoke, his eyes a shade darker as they discussed leaving Forks. Then, they lightened for a moment as he turned to said girl who was sitting on his lap.

"Would you come with us, sweetheart?" He asked her, looking pleadingly up at her. To his delight, she nodded, running her hand up through her hair.

"Yeah, of course I am. I can just drop out of school, I'm legally allowed to." Erin said, very casual with the idea of dropping this rainy town and leaving with her vampire. Nothing about the place was special besides that she met Jasper here. All her family were other places, her mother wasn't even a mother to her anymore. She'd leave at the drop of a hat.

Her Golden boy kissed her head.

"It's decided. Erin." Carlisle addressed her, his voice lighter as he spoke to her, as if he was trying to keep her mind off the subject. "Esme wants to know what you want for dinner."

"Tell her don't worry about it. After that.. Eugh, with Joan, I'm not very hungry." Erin got up from Jaspers lap, who looked like he wanted to pull her back and insist that she eat something.

The taller blonde smiled at her, nodding his head before exiting into his study.

* * *

 **R &R**


	19. Chapter 19

It was officially a storm outside.

The weatherman made an understatement when he called the amount of snowfall. Where it was supposed to be only 5 inches, it became 13. It was by no means a gentle fall either, it whooshed around in the wind violently, sticking to the house and the windows with the same amount of eagerness as a drunk man faced with a bowl of spicy peanuts.

Jasper and Erin were sitting on their knees at the window, arms up on the pane, watching as snow got everywhere. The fireplace was on, and the heating was a nice 71 degrees. The flurry amount of white outside was insane, even for Forks, Washington. The roads were closed, the Hospital was closed, everyone was stuck in the house until they were forced to go out and hunt. This time of year was the hardest, because the animals they hunted moved areas or went into hibernation when the snowfall got too rough.

Erin breathed hot on the cold window, fogging it up visibly. Her finger made little drawings, stick fingers that had massive, stocky guns and humongous grenades.

Jasper's drawing was much the same, only with a massive tank.

Christmas wasn't for another couple of days, but Alice had already gotten every present underneath the massive Christmas tree that looked like they had just gone out to the forest, chopped one down, and then brought it inside. They very well could have. It was decorated elegantly with twinkling white bulbs and red ornaments. There were too many presents there for them to belong to a family of eight, even considering multiples and the presents that Erin had purchased and shoved underneath the massive, beautiful spider-infested tree.

"Our cousins are comin' this holiday." Jasper said to her casually, though his voice was the slightest bit strained. Erin leaned against his larger frame.

"Really? Are they prissy or ugly?" She asked, blowing her breath heavily against the glass, so their little stick figures showed more plain on the cold glass from the heat.

Blondie smiled, his cold index finger tracing up her jaw. "They're afraid of me."

"Did you jump out at them from behind a curtain?" Erin raised her hand up, running her hand through his perfect gold curls, giving one ringlet a swift tug. His chest rumbled, butterscotch eyes glancing down at her, daring her to continue.

"I might as well have." He said, grasping her small hand and kissing her pulse point gently. The familiar tingling burn in his throat was easy to ignore now. He hadn't hunted in a week and a half, but still, her blood didn't seem appetizing. The smell of her, of leather and smoke, only served to arouse him and calm the Major, who was suspiciously quiet this holiday season.

"Wanna hide shit around the house so they jump out at them?" Erin's smile was devious, her eyes glinting beautifully.

"No you will not!" Alice called from the staircase, carrying down several freshly wrapped packages. They were each a shiny metallic color, and had a velvet bow. She huffed, turning her body to watch the slight vampire bring the presents to the large Douglas Fir, arranging the pile neatly. Large gifts at the bottom, and small on top. It was like the whole orphanage in Madeline lived here.

"It's been a long time since we've had the Denali clan come over, and I've already made everything perfect for when they arrive." Alice paused, staring off into space. "Which is in only six hours! And you two still haven't gotten dressed!"

"Hey, what's wrong with what I've got on?" Erin gestured to her body, which was covered mostly by the large blanket that she dragged down from Jasper's bedroom and her pajamas, which were printed with crude candy canes.

Jasper poked at one of the candy canes, which was flipping the bird.

"Ugh fine. But this was the last time I'll ever be fucking jolly. Just you watch, son." She said, getting up from the spot near the window, dragging the blanket behind her on her way up to Jasper's room.

Rosalie passed her on the way, giving her a wiry grin.

"Got the box?" The tall blonde girl asked her sister, putting her hands on her curved hips.

"Of course. You going to pick him up now?" Alice asked lightly, moving onto her tip toes and then back again. Rosalie hummed her answer, looking at her 'twin' brother, who remained at the windowsill where Erin's scent was the strongest. He was so lovesick with this girl, and he deserved to be happy with her. And this was a great present, bringing her Father to Forks during his shore leave. Jasper still had ties to the U.S. Military, and arranged to extend the man's leave so he could spend more time with his only daughter.

Jesse Martinez was a good man, serving his time and beyond for his country as a Second Lieutenant with honors. Jasper was ranked higher than he was by three marks, much to the Majors satisfaction.

"Let's go then." He said, shrugging on his large coat. They'd take Edward's Volvo, since it was prepared already with the chains on the tires nice and firm. It wouldn't do to have Erin's father die in a crash because of the slick, frozen roads. They'd have to drive more carefully when they came back.

* * *

"How many controllers have you gone through this year?" Erin asked, watching Emmett sweep up the broken plastic pieces of the Xbox controller that he had just destroyed. Or more like annihilated. It might as well be dust now.

The large vampire shrugged his giant shoulders, dumping the pieces into the trash.

"Lost count. It's in the low hundreds."

Erin plugged in the new USB's, connecting to the brand new controllers which happened to have been in the cabinet underneath the game system. There were tons others in there, prepared for each time one of them ruined the expensive piece of game equipment. Which was sure as fuck frequent.

The game continued after she tossed him the new, white controller and they went back to the mission at hand. Killing every alien in site and then picking up all the guns and shit. Emmett kept laughing when she appeared back next to him after dying. They both got into the military jeep, Emmett driving and basically crashing into everything while Erin used the back guns, shooting at everything and nothing at the same time, at least when they found more aliens to kill.

Those little druid, pointy-head guys' cackling was really annoying, especially with the volume put up high like they had it. They bled green and orange blood when Erin shot them in the face.

Emmett got the big guys with the glowing arm swords while Erin threw plasma grenades at them and watched them blow up needlessly.

"Alright, alright, enough of that game. She has to eat her lunch now." Esme said, moving and standing in front of the television screen. The game was paused once their vision was blocked by the older woman.

While Erin ate, she could hear Edward playing his sad, sad music on his piano in the family room. Really, how could he expect to get laid if he kept acting like a depressed Californian teenager?

She sighed, plopping her sandwich back on her plate and leaned heavily on the table. "Ed, if you don't quit with your emo-classic boner, I'm going to go in there and smack those goddamn sideburns off your ugly face." She said snidely. The sorrow-filled piano music stopped abruptly.

Footsteps, and then his much taller self was behind her, leaning against the wall and watching her with narrowed eyes.

Erin turned to look at his brooding, pale face. She huffed.

"Enough of this self depreciating crap. You, brother, need to get laid." She said, sliding out of the kitchen stool to approach the copper-haired vampire. Edward immediately was adverse to the idea, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

Erin smacked his arm. "Hey, none of that shit. You're so goddamn mopey, I don't know if you _noticed._ "She stressed deeply. "Hey I hear ah, Kate? Irina? One of those blonde cousins has a thing for you, says Jazz. Why don't you-" Erin poked his chest. "Take her _out_? Hmmm?" She gestured crudely with her hands and hips, which made the stoic vampire make a disgusted face.

"Share Bambi's mom together." She continued. At that, Edward scoffed loudly and turned away. Erin followed after him.

"It's Tanya who has a 'thing' for me. And it's nothing I want to pursue." He said plainly, smirking when she had to almost jog to keep up with him on the stairs.

"Why not?"

"Because it's nothing. She's interested because I'm not. There's nothing more to tell, I'd rather have her simply as a good friend." Edward ducked into his bedroom, Erin stopping the door from closing and went in after him.

"Hey c'mon there's no reason why friends can't become friendlier. No promises or marriage proposals." The vampire grabbed a book from his shelf, putting it over his face as he laid back on his couch, trying to drown her out.

Erin snatched it away.

"Or do you want to go for man-butt, because with your pretty face, I bet it won't be hard."

Edward threw a pillow at her before wrapping his arms around her waist and yanking her onto the couch with him, and proceeded to lay on her much smaller frame, pressing onto her and effectively acting like an idiot. "Don't try to be the mindreader, that's my job you short little freak." He taunted, feeling her squirm underneath his heavy body, complaining that he was crushing her. Erin smacked the back of his head, but he still didn't get up from her.

"Ugh, this sofa is so lumpy." Edward said loudly, a huge, amused smile on his face. "I should really throw it out." He continued, ignoring her little smacks and kicks. Erin whined, muffled by his back.

"You prick!" She managed to yell out, her hands grabbing his collar and trying to pull him away, only managing to rip the fabric.

Then he picked her up by her legs, throwing her over his shoulder with ease. "ACK!" Erin swung her foot into his stomach, but only managed to hurt her poor toes.

"Guess I'll toss it into the dumpster!" Edward shouted, swinging her around on his shoulder.

"Bastard!" Erin shrieked, but his almost witch-like cackle covered it up as he headed towards the window, preparing to throw her outside into the snow in her little overall dress and tall black socks.

He opened the window, the chill whooshing in. The freshly fallen snow greeted her just outside. And then fwoosh! She landed in a cloud of freezing white snow. Edward was chuckling from his bedroom before he jumped out and landed next to her, making a flurry of snowflakes rush up from where his feet had sunk into the pillow-y H2O. Erin was already shivering, the thin fabric of her clothing doing nothing to hide her from the wet, white snow that was making her warmth sink away. Teeth chattering, she got up, grabbing a handful of the wet stuff.

It crashed against Edward's stupid face.

Roughly ten minutes later, both their clothes were soaked through and Erin was shaking harder than a mini vibrator.

Both their outfits were disposed of, the little rocker was forced into a hot bath and then into a fresh set of clothing. Edward was scolded lightly by Esme while she made a fresh pot of coffee for Erin to warm up with.

 **~T~**

Recently iced Christmas cookies were taken out of the fridge and onto a neat, square plate.

Erin ate a small cherry topped cookie in one bite, dousing it down with a sip of sweetened coffee. The Denali clan would be there any minute. Edward was being forced to stay by her side with a casually laid out threat or two on her part.

Jasper told her that Charlotte and Peter gave her their Christmas greetings. They called from a pay phone in Little Rock, and were excited to meet her. They would come by when the frozen rush of snow melted enough for them to come in without trouble. Around March or April. They didn't meet with their old Major often, her Golden Boy explained.

Peter and Charlotte didn't drink from animals, they drank humans, like all the typical vampire stories said. They couldn't hunt around the Cullen's territory safely, so they took careful measures not to threaten the safety of the family with their feedings. They didn't stay more than a week at a time.

When they showed, they'd show the utmost respect to her, Jasper said, voice deep, his twang full. His scarred hand ran down her arm, sensual and territorial in nature.

The Major didn't like the smell of his brother on his mate. He didn't like the smell of anyone but himself in her hair, on her skin.

Erin turned from her spot at the kitchen island, facing her large mate who was looking down at her with dark eyes that were watching her like a coyote watched an injured rabbit. Her arms slowly wrapped around his shoulders and his hand pushed her hair away from her face gently.

Unfortunately, the Denali clan chose that moment to knock on the front door, and were once again given a reason to fear her grand Boy Scout, as he growled at the interruption.

Irina scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she wandered over to the Christmas tree, setting down more presents in the pile. "Good to see you too, Whitlock."

* * *

 **This is Christmas Eve, so I have more time to make the actual opening of the presents and everything**

 **Read, Review, you get the gist.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Happy Holidays**

* * *

To Erin, the Denali clan seemed to be more or less the Kardashian's rather than vampires.

They had the same gold colored eyes as the Cullen's did. Three of them, Irina, Tanya and Kate each had beautiful locks of blonde hair. Only Irina's was more golden than the platinum that her sisters shared.

Carmen and her mate, Eleazar, were brunettes. The two of them were very close with each other, and reminded her strongly of Carlisle and Esme with their compassion. Both of them were kind, and had an inkling of olive in their pale skin tone. They had smooth, Spanish origins that were clear when they pressed kisses to each of the Cullen's cheeks in a very European manner.

Jasper gave Eleazar a respectful nod and handshake rather than accepting his kiss. The two respected the younger's wishes, keeping their distance, though they did greet Erin with curiosity.

"Have you met your mate, Whitlock?" Tanya asked with a smile, gold eyes on the small human who was embraced by the much larger, golden haired military man.

"I have." He said with his usual twang, a smile on his face. Erin tilted her head back, looking up at him from underneath. Jasper put his hand on top of her head, moving his fingers through her dark hair.

Kate took a step forward, hand out to shake, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Katrina." Irina cautioned her sister, who didn't pull away, even at her sister's scolding.

"I hear you're electrifying." Erin said lightly with a small smirk, pushing her hair out of her face messily, looking from Kate's pale white hand to the woman's perfectly symmetrical features. And that smile that was curved in that lovely way that only a vampire could create, though the Denali seemed especially enthralled with her statement.

Her smile grew. "You've heard correctly." She said. Next to her, Carmen rolled her eyes before gesturing to Eleazar to follow her towards the Cullen's kitchen. Carlisle and Esme joined them, each amused by the two women who were trying to tempt fate.

"Don't do it so high. She has a low tolerance for pain, and Jasper has an even lower tolerance." Edward warned, though he was still looking at their close proximity with an almost eagerness.

Emmett and Rosalie also looked interested in how Erin would respond to Kate's shocking gift, while Alice was acting very bitter. She probably had seen her reaction, and was not at all pleased with it.

Kate flipped her hand over, palm up, offering it to the smaller girl. "I won't let it sting longer than a few seconds, sweetness." She assured her with a tilt of her strong chin.

Erin reached her hand out, hovering over the slightly larger one. The blonde's plump lips parted slightly, the white of her teeth visible as her eyes flickered from their hands to the girl's face.

Then, her pointer finger tapped Kate's palm, giving her a shock that made her jump back with a surprised yelp. The tiny electric shocks ran up her arm, lasting only a handful of seconds before they dissipated with an uncomfortable tingling left behind.

"Did it hurt very much?" She asked, looking cautiously at the scarred man who was behind Erin, staring her down with his brows furrowed.

Jasper didn't like what he was getting from his cousin concerning his mate. It was not the minor shock and pain that she had given her, though he certainly didn't enjoy that either. In fact, a part of him wanted her in pieces, dead on the floor for giving her pain.

What was most concerning was her curious amount of interest in his baby girl. The Major did not like it.

"Nah, I'm good. It's quite a talent you got there. You'd be handy to have in a fist fight." Erin told her, hands on her hips. Then, she looked to her Golden Boy, who didn't break his stand off with the other blonde.

"You okay?" She asked. He was being strangely quiet. Though it could always be the presence of extended family. He tell her that the Kardashian-like clan wasn't all that fond of him. He was a very intimidating figure, even compared to the much older vampires.

"Did it hurt terribly?" Jasper asked, rather than answer her question. Kate narrowed her eyes at the other, stiffening her body up as she watched the two interact. Tanya bumped her sister.

Kate looked at her, then back to the couple before conceding and leaving with her.

"I don't feel it anymore. What's up?" Erin took a pinch of his shirt, holding him there. He looked down at her before ducking down and kissing her. His hands cradling her face, his lips moving against hers hungrily for too short a time before he darted away from her with a skip in his step. He felt better now that her face was pink and her rosy lips showed proof of his dear abuse against them. Katrina Denali wasn't allowed to touch his mate, not with his scent spread across her like it was.

* * *

The presents were opened soon after the introductions and hellos had passed.

Erin had her hand tucked into Jasper's back pocket the entire time, and he was acutely aware of the way her hand would squeeze his buttock tauntingly. It took all of his strength and Southern-born integrity to not sweep her up and demand that she force him on his knees so he could give her something to whimper about.

Instead of doing those achingly pleasurable things, he watched her rip open one of Rosalie's gifts with only one hand. It was a box with black mats for the inside of her Mustang. They were expensive, easy to clean, and molded in perfectly with the interior of the old vehicle.

His gift from Rosalie was a golden wire picture frame, where the wires came together to form a perfect knot in the left hand corner. Inside, was a photograph of himself and Erin. She was turned, and his arm was around her, while his free arm was out to take the shot. It was edited perfectly, in a way that the light was flattering and the colors were as vivid as he saw them when the picture had been taken. Erin had been wearing purple that day, and a silver necklace with coins all along it that chimed and jingled when she moved. Red stones dangled from her ears.

Jasper hugged his twin, thanking her.

Carmen cooed at the photograph, complimenting Rosalie's editing skills. She ate up the compliments, as they stroked her intense vanity.

Erin peaked at the picture, slipping her hand out of Jasper's jeans to rest her hand on his arm, leaning on it heavily. Hell, that picture made the both of them look their best, in all the right ways, broadcasting every attractive feature.

"Open mine next." Edward said from the other side of Alice, who was happily looking through the clothing that Carmen and Kate had gifted her.

"Whatever it is, I hope you didn't bend over for it." Erin said lowly, her meanly pretty smile prominent. He balled up some wrapping paper, hitting her in the shoulder with it.

"Just open it, wench."

Erin made a face at him before opening up the gift bag, looking inside of it and finding a box. Jasper chuckled from next to her, feeling her irritation begin before he took her hand in his, holding it close. She leaned back against him as she opened the box. Finding yet another box. And again, another box.

And then tin foil.

Then cellophane. Then duct tape.

It was promptly given to Jasper, who ripped through the duct tape easily. Finally, there was the tiniest of boxes. It was a ring box.

Erin narrowed her eyes at Edward suspiciously, who only half-grinned at her. She cursed at him in her head, but the glint in his eye didn't go away.

Inside the plain green ring box was in fact a ring, rather than a finger like she had been expecting. It was silver and had a wide, oval shaped surface that had it's face embedded with small diamonds that glinted in the light and against the shining baubles hanging from the Christmas tree.

"What's this for?" She asked him.

"It's my mother's engagement ring." He clarified, which only confused her more visibly. Jasper looked at his brother sharply, warning plain in his body language as he pulled Erin onto his lap.

"I'm not proposing to you, weirdo. I just want you to have it." Edward said, showing his palms to his brother in a show of submission. He still did not look satisfied.

"Huh. Thanks, I guess." Erin said plainly. She acted just like he expected and wanted her to. She didn't look into things deeply. She didn't question his motives. Erin simply accepted the gift he gave her, sliding it onto her pointer finger, nothing implied.

"Figured someone should have it instead of it being lost at some point when we eventually move again." Edward shrugged. "If I ever need it again, I'll probably just take it back from you without you knowing."

"Good. You should have something when you inevitably get hitched to one of the neighbor's dogs." She said snootily, observing the ring that was a bit loose on her finger. Jasper covered her hand with his, his thumb going over his brother's ring. He'd know if Edward desired his precious mate, and clearly he didn't. Edward had a purely friendly relationship with her, acting mostly as her big brother and companion. But still, as pleased he was that she was getting along with his family, he didn't want the implications that the ring provided.

"There's something else, too. It's in there somewhere." He waved his hand as if not particularly interested, turning back down to look at the set of Chinese Checkers he had gotten from Carlisle.

Edward's other gift was one that he and Alice both signed for. It was a music box, one that when she opened it, instead of playing the typical ballet melody, it played instrumentals for Stairway to Heaven.

Erin thanked Alice, who beamed at her and told her that she had put her new wardrobe in Jasper's room for her. Figured that there was no reason to rip through all that wrapping paper.

At the end of the night, the members of the Denali clan decided to join in a hunt with the Cullen's.

Instead of joining them, Jasper turned and began to set the stage for a very special Christmas present from Santa Claus.

" _Mama put that gun to the ground. Cause I can't shoot them anymore. There's a long black cloud that's coming down. I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door._ " His radio sang as he drove through the night to a local hotel in Downtown Forks. The snow was piled up around the roads, which themselves were coated with a thick layer of road salt that melted down whatever ice would accumulate there.

" _I'm knock knock knockin' on heaven's door. Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door._ "

The lights, both Christmas and traffic, glared against the white of the snow in a way that he wouldn't usually find lovely. Since his mate had found him, he supposed that everything would be more beautiful to him now. The trees, the snow, the freezing cold climate and the way it made heat burn on Erin's face. It used to be that he hated the cold. Hated it, because the cold made blood rush underneath skin, and made it harder for him to concentrate.

Now he felt almost comfortable in it, with the cold, frozen water falling from the sky and onto his car as he pulled in to a parking place at the hotel that he had left Erin's father at.

Jesse was a shorter man, standing at a meager 5'6, his head full of brown locks and his eyes the same as his daughter's. He was young looking but heavily fatigued as he remembered him.

He didn't speak to him at all when he had retrieved him, only a grunt of an introduction.

Now, knocking at the man's room door, he noted that the shorter man had since changed out of his uniform and into a pair of dark pants and faded shirt. He nodded to Jasper, allowing him inside.

"You, you're with my girl, aren't yah?" Jesse asked, his New York accent thick. It was not quite from Brooklyn, not quite from Queens.

"Yes sir." Inside, he mused to himself at the thought of referring to a man below him in rank as 'sir'.

"At ease, boy." He said to him, pulling on his coat and cleaning up after himself as he went about preparing to leave into the snow. Jasper relaxed himself, forcing his shoulders to slump down, act more human.

"You been treatin' her like a goddamn queen I hope." Jesse told him more like, gesturing to him with a pointed finger. He nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets, trying to be actively aware of himself and his movements. He couldn't let himself look too frozen, there was no telling the experience that Erin's father had gone through. Military men were sharp, especially in this day and age. He caught one whiff of something unnatural, he could do some real damage.

"Sir." He nodded, moving his hand up to fidget with his hair, like Erin did sometimes.

Jesse seemed unsatisfied, but nodded before moving past him out the door. "Let's get the hell out of this hole."

* * *

 **These next couple of chapters are basically just going to wrap up the Holidays, and then the whole thing with Erin's mother and father drama, before finally diving into the first book where Bella comes in and starts her bullshit**

 **I might sneak in another porn-fluff chapter in between though. Just to keep the romance up, since I haven't been on that recently. It's just been Erin and the rest of the Cullen's, but I kinda like that.**

 **Especially with the comparison of how Erin gets along with them, and how Bella gets along with them.**

 **might go back and edit the previous chapters once i delve into the storyline more.**

 **R &R**


	21. Chapter 21

**Happy New Year! Yeah, we're not out of it yet. There's a shit ton of foreshadowing I have to do for the next handful of chapters (but not this one) before we inevitably verge onto book/movie territory, which I will be merging and editing with the addition of Erin.**

 **Cause you can't just add a whole new character who does absolutely nothing to advance/change the original plot. Otherwise, what's the point?**

 **this chapter has little in it besides filler, and a small reunion that isn't that big of a deal. Actually, I highly recommend skipping this chapter, on the pure sense that it doesn't do anything for anybody. The only reason I can't skip it is because I wrote in the whole 'Her Dad is her Christmas present' thing from Jasper before. So it's too late for me.**

 **Save yourselves.**

* * *

Alone in the house, everyone out hunting, there was no sound at all. Not even the wind or crickets.

Erin peaked through the tall, thick emerald curtains that Esme had installed for the season, seeing only pure white snow covering the cold glass.

"Tch." She shut all of the curtains in the living room and kitchen before finding the thermostat and hiking the heat up. It was freezing, and she was already feeling the familiar signs of the flu. The added heat, plus that of the already burning fireplace, warmed the room within minutes.

Really, there was nothing much to occupy her time with. Fiddle with the television, find a channel that was airing the Next Generation of Star Trek. Retrieve a box of Lucky Charms that she stashed in Jasper's room, behind his guitar case. Fix the scarlet eyeliner that she applied that morning.

Erin blew a raspberry, laying on her back as she stared up at the ceiling through her new sunglasses, giving everything a slightly caramel tint. The ceiling had a dark metal chandelier hanging down from it, with small, round light bulbs imitating candles. The walls were dark enough to make it so the chandelier almost merged with background, making it look as if the lights were simply floating there like the Pac-Man ghosts.

Whoopi Goldberg's voice was in the background, explaining some alien nonsense that she only half-paid attention to. It was all background noise, something to cover up the dead silence that was enveloping the entire house like some kind of fog.

It wasn't the simple kind of awkward silence, like if she was alone in a room with Alice, where the two of them had absolutely nothing in common at all, and therefore nothing to talk about, leading to the inevitable part where one of them leaves, or where one of them (usually Alice, who had a bigger issue with the uncomfortable relationship that the two of them shared) forcefully brought up a conversation topic out of nowhere, which ended with less accomplished than before it started.

It was more of a smoldering, intimidating kind of quiet that proved just how uneasy Erin had become being completely alone in the large house that she had started to associate with 'home'. It was an unusual feeling, like being nervous, but with more of a threat to her being.

She tightened the muscles in her legs, looking around with only her eyes to make sure that there was no 'The call is coming from inside the house!' moments before she turned the volume to the television up higher.

Q was onscreen, clearly, but Erin didn't turn to look. It was better just hearing him snark off to Picard and Worf, since she had already seen this episode at least twice before.

"Ah!" She suddenly lashed out when the sickening feeling became too much, forcing herself up from her spot and yanking up the patterned throw pillow that had been behind her head. _It's barely been 20 fucking minutes._ She thought to herself, pacing the short passage that was between the couch and the coffee table. The Lucky Charms box, complete with Lucky the Leprechaun on the side, was subject to her rough smack, making the box fall over and spill the sugary treats out on the table.

Erin put her hands to her head, slowly pushing her hands through her hair. The new addition of the ring on her pointer finger made the task more difficult, getting caught in her dark hair.

With a huff, she looked down at the red box, where Lucky was facing her, blurry around the edges slightly.

Were leprechaun's real too in the weird-ass fucking world she stepped into? Vampires, werewolves, and ghosts were all that Jasper told her about, since those were all he had proof of.

Maybe it was possible that Lucky was actually walking around somewhere underneath a rainbow with a pot-full of stolen jewelry and irish weed, and had unwittingly been taken advantage of in the strong legal system that wove their way through Hollywood's underbelly. Because there was no way that through the entire time that Lucky Charms cereal has been sold that Lucky got any amount of the profits. If he did, he'd be living in Los Angeles in a penthouse and getting drunk in clubs all over the place.

While pondering the shot of Lucky the Leprechaun's mug shot, the sound of a car pulling up interrupted the Star Trek-covered up silence.

Looking towards the curtains that she had shut, Erin could see headlights flash through them briefly before they moved away. Since when did vampires need to drive out somewhere to hunt? And why didn't she hear the car pull out when everybody left? It was a pretty distinctive sound that was hard to miss, especially when it was so quiet up in the hills like they were.

She pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head. The caramel tint gone, she focused on the front door that was just in the corner of her vision. It was sharper than what was up close, as usual.

It was Jasper that came through the door, making her relax, though her tin-foil hat moment had been destroyed by him for the time being. Erin had been expecting a horrible snow monster or a creature that she saw in a movie that could possibly have merit in being real now. Not her snow-covered boyfriend, whose hair and clothing, despite having horrible, sticky wet snow all over them, were not at all out of place and looked at least 20% hotter than he was when she saw him at least half an hour ago. Fucker.

"Hey baby girl." The golden-haired asshole gave her an excited, wide toothy grin, which would have sent her momentarily into shock if not for the sound of someone still coming from the outside.

Her eyes darted to the door again, and then back to her boyfriend, her lips parted in a little bit of shock, but overall just silent confusion.

Jasper said nothing, just gestured with his chin for her to keep looking for who was coming in. A figure finally stomped their way close enough for her to see the outline of them. It was a short person, in a huge, puffy coat and boots, covered much more heavily in the snow that Boy Scout seemed to have brushed right off before coming in.

"How much snow has to come fucking down in one goddamn place?!" A familiar voice said grouchily from the figure.

He stumbled into the house, powdery snow falling from him and creating a large, slippery puddle where he was standing. Esme was going to be unhappy about the mess later. The wooden floor was going to get tarnished from all this water being soaked into it.

Her Dad took off the beanie from his head, shaking it outside before closing the door.

* * *

Erin's father stayed for only a few hours at the Cullen house.

Jasper, while both watching his mate interact with her father as well as attempting to get to know the man that helped create her, heard the rest of the family return. They remained outside, smelling Jesse inside. He smelt more tempting than Erin did. He was more hotblooded than she was, his blood pumped faster. Stronger. Though, the similarities were so clear to his palate. The bits of her father, the smoky and salty scents mixed with the strong chemical, clinically floral smell of her mother.

The Denali sisters didn't even come out from the tree-line until his mate left the house for the first time in weeks, her father in tow.

"Woah. Did you get a whiff of that?" Kate groaned, putting her hand over her mouth and nose.

"Tell me about it." Rosalie returned, holding her breath as she turned the high heat off, so the smell wouldn't be so potent. Human's scents were hard enough to resist, it was even stronger when they didn't cover it up with scented soaps and shampoos. He clearly hadn't bathed in a few days.

 **~bow~**

"Your mother's been keeping the place clean." Jesse mentioned to Erin as they got inside through the snow covered condo.

She shook out her hair and removed her coat, uncaring about the mess she was making in her own house because it was her mother or the maid who would end up cleaning it up.

"Only if it suits her." Erin said, a little groggy. Even with the sudden excitement and shock of her father showing up, the drive and the general exhaustion that accompanied the holidays were enough to grab hold of her and hold her down.

Jesse followed suit, hanging up his huge coat and putting his duffle bag down. He looked at her fondly as she removed the pins in her hair and stuffed them in her pocket in a way that almost mimicked the way that he had removed his hat earlier.

"It's really good to see you in person, kiddo."

Erin raised a half grin back at him. "You too Dad."

* * *

 **This chapter, if portrayed in a movie, would literally only last like 6 1/2 minutes at the most. At the most! Ridiculous. But then again, this entire section that I'm doing before the actual movies start could also be skipped if necessary. As well as most of New Moon, since it will literally be full of adventures that aren't going to be that relevant, but will just entertain you for a small amount of time until it leads back into the territory.**

 **R &R**


	22. Chapter 22

**See? I'm IGNORING the majority of what happened last chapter! It didn't need to exist, except for the loose ends needing tying! And this chapter as well ties up loose strings until it once again becomes convenient to bring them up again!**

 **I could literally replace one of the current writers of Supernatural right now, because this is all that they do! Only without the loose strings, because they just dangle that shit around like it's no shit on their popsicle stick!**

* * *

Joan Oakes had a problem. Several problems.

Each problem had a name, of course. You simply couldn't refer to each enemy you had as 'you, problem' as easily as you thought you could. In this modern society, the norm was to hide your hatred and simply revel in the idea that you haven't been called out on your issues yet.

Washington had a totally different take on that easily conceivable idea. Specifically, the small town of Forks. The number of times that she had been referred to as a lesbian in an offensive tone was being hiked up higher than ever before.

When she first moved to the small town, they already tacked on the label of 'newcomer outcast'. But once the word gets out you're a lesbian, when you're living alone with a young daughter, things get worse.

At first, it was just rumors. The nurses, that she spoke casually to in the hallways, later said that she made passes at them. With no proof, Human Resources contacted her. The rumors were all swept under the rug, and it had stopped for a few weeks. It was the cold season, people were coming in with pneumonia and for flu shots. It was busy, too busy to take digs at the new citizens of the town. It was almost pleasant, only working. She had even begun taking on more shifts. Saw her daughter less, though that was a small price to pay for the large amount of pay she was now receiving.

Surgeries, MRIs, being assigned new patients and getting paid thousands. Yes. This was all worth it. This was why she left California. There were dozens more doctors, nurses and surgeons there. All able and willing to work. But Forks? She was one of only 6 surgeons. The others weren't nearly as successful or talented at their craft as she was. Joan Oakes had become that one piece of twine that kept a life from ending. And she had become too valuable to Forks, for them to start their mocking of her orientation any longer.

Being the sole reason that a large amount of people didn't all suffer and die. Controlling a person's life in her hands.

It was better than sex, in some ways. Which had started to levitate towards her at a higher rate after she had become so primary in the effectiveness of Forks General.

Nurses in their little printed scrubs with their eyebrows plucked and mascara applied more heavily liked to play with power.

Young women, unsure of their own selves and their sexuality came to her. Now, the tables had turned so severely, that they were flirting with the very woman they tried to get fired weeks before.

Joan broke them. And then they would crawl back, despite the pain she applied. They were pitiful girls.

She hardly saw Erin anymore. A few times, she had caught the girl, smoking. The scent of it on her clothes when she saw her briefly at home. But she really couldn't bring herself to attempt any real care that she was rotting her own lungs, liver, and teeth. She didn't become a doctor because she wanted to save anyone. Or become like 'D.A.R.E.', and warn children and teenagers about the effects of drugs and alcohol.

The cigarette packets were thrown out haphazardly. The lighters hidden up high. There was little to no resistance on her part.

One day, at least a year after starting, she was finishing up the paperwork for a young, 10-year old boy, when there was the most unusual occurrence.

A new face.

She had forgone the papers, and followed the small group of nurses who had rushed past her office without even looking inside of it longingly, like they usually had.

There he was. One of her most severe problems as of late.

He was a tall, incredibly handsome looking man. Pale, too pale to not be translucent, with the lightest of platinum blonde hair that was slicked back neatly. He was a new surgeon, the gaggle of young nurses, male and female whispered among themselves.

The name Carlisle Cullen came up from the whispering, and the man looked up from the Hospital's director, Martin Doerian, as if he had heard them from so far away.

When their eyes met, and when he smiled at her, she knew that her rein on the patients and the staff of Forks General had started to burn away.

Carlisle Cullen was the new her.

Nurses and patients both swooned when he came into a room. He was on everyone's mind when he was present. His looks, his charm and his skill. Everything about him was like an updated, male version of herself come to life. The girls she had used to make cum in their little cotton panties didn't look at her twice anymore. Her name as the most successful doctor in the hospital had been replaced by that blonde.

Through her own investigating, she tried to discover him and his intentions. Unfortunately, there was little wrong with the man.

Everything about him seemed to make this town fawn over him. He and his wife couldn't have children. So they adopted five of them, two of them being his wife's nephew and niece out of only the goodness of his heart. He was nothing like her.

He wanted to help people.

She wanted him dead.

And now, another problem arose because of Carlisle Cullen. He had destroyed her. Between the time that he had arrived and now, she regained her standing when the nurses realized that the perfectly-perfect facade of Doctor Cullen couldn't be broken by them showing him their cleavage.

But now, when he actively told her off, it was happening once more. The rumors. The questions. And now, a new twist. Why are you a bad mother? Why do you never see your daughter? Why did you never tell us your daughter was in high school now?

Questions, questions, questions. Every single one that she left unanswered slowly stretched her cover of control she had over this hospital. The town was so close knit that the overall popular consensus of a person could control whether someone kept their job.

The Chief of Police was no help to her. Everyone was pulling away from her and turned towards him. Even her own mother.

Joan decided that there was something she could do, and her problems would all be solved.

"Miss? All electronics must be off during take off." A tan flight attendant told her, interrupting her thought. She tapped her laptop keyboard twice before shutting it gently.

She turned to give a small smile to the woman who looked no older than 26, and had no business being on such an advanced flight. "Of course. My apologies." Joan murmured before leaning back in her seat. She watched the flustered attendant walk away down the aisle, her eyes traveling the curves of her in that short, blue uniform.

"Hmph." She turned her eyes towards the window, watching the black runway dissipate as they took flight into the grey sky.

* * *

Jasper tossed a large pile of snow away from the driveway, moving at a human pace.

It's been three days since he's seen Erin, and already the call for her was making his chest ache. The bond between them was set, and now being apart from her for long periods of time gave him terrible pain. It was like someone had pulled the light out of his life, and now he was left with the bleak existence he had before he and Erin got close.

Carlisle was the only one who understood the shooting pains that he was experiencing. Directly after he turned Esme, they were separated for a grand total of a few hours before the horrible pain brought them back together again. He hadn't known about the bond when she was still human, and he left with a longing that he didn't understand until he found her again in a morgue, an inch from death.

He gave him several time-consuming tasks to distract him while Erin spent time with her father. Move the snow from the road. Take down all of the Christmas decorations, including the tree, by himself. They were enough to distract his hands, but not his mind. The Major scratched at the walls he built bitterly, saying that since he was above his mate's father in rank that they could just order him to agree to spend time at the Cullen house, just so the achy feeling would leave him, and so the Major could be contented by the smell of her, even at a distance.

But no. Erin told him over the phone that Jesse would rather not impose on THEM, but instead dirty up his ex-wife's house to irritate the woman (who still had not come home from her skiing trip, she mentioned) who broke his heart.

Jasper shoveled yet another pile of white snow off of the pavement. The sky remained a bleak, stormy grey above him as he worked soundlessly.

"Hey." Alice's voice came quietly, a ways behind him. She was sitting on top of the wooden rail of the porch, watching him. Her hands were together on her lap, and her legs were dangling high above the ground.

He didn't know how long she had been there, he had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't register her feelings when she came to watch him.

"Hey." Jasper returned. The entire entryway was clear of the snow from his work.

"...Did you tell her?" Alice then asked, her voice incredibly small and guilty. He stiffened at the sound of her. She was in a lot of pain, his sister. Being alone, especially now that it was only her and Edward left without mates, rather than him joining them.

Alice and Edward were close, but he used to be the one she came to. Now, with the addition of Erin, that doorway was gone for Alice.

"Not yet." He muttered, walking over to the shed, where he stored the shovel back inside.

"Why haven't you? I thought that was why she and I.." She left off, shocked, not moving down from her seat. Jasper shook his head before running his hand through his hair, snow falling out of his hair when he did.

He didn't want to continue the conversation that was wrenching at him more than the actual pains that he was feeling from being away from his mate for so long, but Alice kept pushing.

"Jazz. If she finds out from someone else and not you, she's going to get pissed."

"I know that." Jasper said.

She jumped down into the snow. "If you know that, then why haven't you told her? Haven't you had a good moment to talk about this?"

He didn't answer, feeling Alice's anxiety and fear heighten at his silence.

"Make up your mind soon, Jasper, please. For all of our sakes. It's better if she knew. If Erin finds out, and thinks you were hiding it from her? She'll freak out. I don't even need a vision to know that." She told him before returning into the house.

 _"Mr. Crowley, what they've got in your head. Oh Mr. Crowley. Did you talk to the dead?"_ The pain in his chest faded.

* * *

 **This was a much more satisfying chapter for me, and it was barely any longer than the other one. But you see? Substance, character's reasons for being a total hoe-bag Mom. (kind of proving that she might be an ACTUAL psycho. seriously. she might murder someone on this trip. will she murder that airline hostess? will she have sex with her in the bathroom? How about both? There. One of them is canon. I won't tell you which, but one is DEFINITELY happening.)**

 **R &R**


	23. Chapter 23

**I got a huge amount of reviews recently, all because of 'Insanity Through My Veins', so thank you very much! You rock!**

 **Also I got some questions last chapter, but I can't answer them because you're all under Guest for some reason! I'd really prefer just answering all questions privately, and not have to shove them into my chapters, because that's pretty blah.**

 **Thanks!**

* * *

Jasper's hope to be alone with Erin in the house seemed to be against the odds in all cases.

Alice and Edward's annoyance with him apparently wasn't enough for them to leave the two of them alone so he could actually accomplish something.

His adopted brother was staring at him intently, unhappy with the way his thoughts were leading him when he thought about how Erin would react. That only served to make the Major curse out, because Edward seemed to think he knew HIS mate better than he knew her. That the two of them being companions could mirror the bond between him and his girl.

Again, Edward's disapproval of his thoughts was heavy.

Alice was much more upset with him than Edward was. In fact, she was borderline angry with him. Her hands made into fists, creating a sound like granite rubbing against a rubble wall. She was looking at Erin with sad eyes, as her hair was being carefully styled into a two tight Dutch braids that was made from the crown of her head and then down into pigtails by Rosalie's talented, pale white fingers. She was chewing bubblegum, and blowing the occasional bubble that threatened to get into her hair that his twin was fixing for her.

The blonde girl would drawl that she was going to rip that pink gum out of her mouth, Erin would snort and begin popping it again a few moments later.

"Who was that girl?" Edward asked Erin, who was mid-bubble. She sucked it back into her mouth, chewing it.

"Your mind reading shit needs to learn privacy, ass.." Erin returned, hand twitching, as if tempted to smack the tall boy. Rosalie pulled her hair back towards herself when she tried to move to look at him.

"I can't help it, you're remembering things too loudly."

"YOU'RE remembering things too loudly."

"Here we go again with your dumb girl-fights." Rosalie sighed, tying the plastic-ball elastics to the pig-tail braids that she held in her hands. "You two might as well be Siamese twins."

"That's conjoined twins." Edward corrected. Erin copied him, making her voice deep and full of mock. He raised his brows at her expectantly.

Jasper put his hand against the back of her neck, carefully leaning her towards himself. "Easy sweetheart." He murmured to her. His thumb rubbed up to where her hairline on her neck started, musing the newly growing locks of her hair that were too short to fit into her braids. Her response, a shiver of delight, made both him and the Major purr with satisfaction.

New Years Day had passed the day before, complete with Emmett and Alice lighting sparklers that crackled and made noise. The Winter break was slowly leading to it's end, and they'd be back at school in two weeks for the new semester, as the snow that had come down in it's hurricane-like strength had finally started to let up and come down now in lazy flurries. Even the roads cleared up enough for Carlisle to return to work that morning to address the amount of injuries that the snow and ice helped create.

"Well!" Alice said lightly, grabbing Edward's arm and standing up with him. "We're going to go do something else. Rosalie, wanna come?" She inquired, rocking back and forth in her kitten heels.

"Ahm..." The blonde noticed the intensely insistent look in the other girls eyes, so she got up, put the magazine she had down and followed her siblings outside.

Erin watched as the others filed out the door and into the snowfall, a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. She grinned, amused, looking back at Jasper. "That wasn't suspicious."

But he had stiffened, his arm on the rest of the couch gone still.

Erin turned in her spot, so she was facing him, her brows furrowed and a frown on her face, waiting for something to happen. Nothing, he stayed stiff still. He might as well have turned into a statue. That look of pain he had when in school was back on his face, making his eyes look dead and dull.

"Okay, who put an angry pit bull in your pants? You've been weird all day." She put her hand on his arm, which felt like it dropped several degrees in just a few minutes.

He finally looked back at her, putting his free hand over hers, encompassing her small fingers with his. "I have somethin' to tell you." He muttered, his finger brushing over one of the silver rings on her thumb, with a small, plain heart made into it's design.

"Then shoot." Erin said, still scrutinizing his perfect, pale face.

"I'm... scared how you'll react to it." He sighed, drawing figures on the skin of her hand with his pointer finger. Blonde curls were falling from their place brushed against his hair and falling down in his face, covering the shame that was no doubt written there.

His mate breathed out heavily, drawing her knees to her chest as she slumped her side into the couch cushions. "Why?"

When he didn't respond, she clicked her tongue, considering him and looking like she was seeing right inside of him, before relaxing. "Alright, wanna play a game then? I'll start."

Erin folded her legs underneath herself, grabbing him by the shirt and tugging on it. Jasper understood, and mirrored her position.

"I'll tell you a secret, and then you tell me one." It was strange how easily she molded into his emotional needs. If anyone else told her they had a secret to tell her, she wouldn't give two craps about it, no matter how visibly uncomfortable they were. This relationship she had with the Cullens was making her soft. She'd lash out against anybody else who did the things they did.

"I'll start." She said, shaking out of her thoughts. "When I was little, I wanted to be a dinosaur vet."

Jasper's smile came against his will at the thought of a little girl with a white doctors coat over an AC/DC tee-shirt playing with plastic dinosaur figurines, eyes lightening back to that burnt butterscotch color that he always had. "Sounds like you saw Jurassic Park." He replied, leaning his elbows on his knees as he sat criss-cross.

Erin scoffed, straightening her slumped over back. "Everyone saw Jurassic Park. But I loved dinosaurs before that. I was like every 11 year boy in existence. I've told you before that I played soccer too. So, proof."

"Now your turn." She said.

He stopped for a moment, thinking to himself. "I met President Kennedy." He said finally.

Erin tilted her head, her lips parted in a bit of shock. "Was he really screwing Marilyn Monroe?" She asked finally. Jasper shrugged his shoulders, but the amused smirk on his handsome face proved that he knew the answer to that, but just chose not to reveal the information. She snorted.

"I used to steal candy from that Gas'n'Sip downtown."

His voice hitched. "Alice and I used to be together." And then, there was an intense feeling of anger coming from outside the front door.

And then, Carlisle kicked the door open, shattering the glass and splintering the wood to chunks of wood. The sound actually made Erin yelp in surprise as pieces of the door flew outwards with such force that they stuck out of the wall across from it, shaking up and down like rubber. The oldest vampire was enraged, which was more rare than a four-leaf clover, because he might as well had steam coming out of his ears.

"Carlisle!" Esme cried, rushing to his side instantly, taking his forearms, which were shaking. No one had ever seen him like this, not only angry, but with the need to _destroy_ , like he had done to the front door. He was supposed to be the best of them all, the one in control, but now he was surrounded by broken glass and wooden splinters that he created. It was completely out of character for him.

Jasper took Erin, moving them both from his adopted father, while still trying to calm down his rush of rage. It took all of his concentration, and it took 1 minute and 45 seconds for Carlisle to calm down and place his hands on Esme's shoulders.

"What happened?" Edward asked from the door, Rosalie and Alice coming in with him. Then his brother took on a similarly pissed off expression, anger swelling in his gut, that Jasper quickly tried to settle. It wasn't the first time he's had to calm a fight from starting.

"She left. Joan. She gave her notice to the hospital last week, I had no idea until I came in today." Carlisle said, his voice strained as he settled himself.

Alice gaped at her father, looking more than a little surprised. "But- No. I didn't see that, I've been watching her decisions, how could she do that without me knowing?!"

The more she listened, the more Erin also wanted to destroy something. The rest of them were speaking quickly with each other as she burned with resentment and heartbreak. She never liked her mother. Hell, she hated her for the longest time. But she did love her. Wanted her attention, wanted her to show that she at least CARED slightly for the daughter she left alone every night. There was never the thought that she could actually leave her behind forever. Abandon her. It was a horribly sinking feeling that she had in the pit of her stomach, realizing just how little she had left.

Her Grandparents, her Father, her Mother. All of them were only _just so_ connected to her. She never saw them everyday, she hardly saw them at all. It was like everyone was being thrown out of her life purposely. Now, all that she had left was the blonde who was holding her in a protective way and his family. It was like everyone she knew had backed away from her to make way for them.

Erin looked up, seeing that Alice was watching her with a worried look on her perfectly elfin face.

"I'm going to go for a drive." She found herself saying before backing out of Jasper's arms. "Alone."

* * *

 **I narrowly avoided a clique here! I'm so proud. Also I put in a huge hint at whats happening in terms of the mating bond! (since im making it my own, it'll be a whole 'fate' thing. But then again, Erin likes to fight fate, so whatever.)**

 **R &R**


	24. Chapter 24

There was no stopping _anywhere,_ she just drove, away from the Cullen's, away from her empty house, away from all the goddamn highway into insanity that she had somehow gotten onto months ago. The snow had been replaced by a gentle rain was falling and making the roads slick. It that went so far against how she was feeling that it made her _angry_ that it wasn't satisfying her intense need for something rough and heavy enough to release some of the frustration that was exploding inside of her _._ There was no way that with everything happening, the weather could be so calm and easy. Erin tightened her grip on her steering wheel, pushing down harder on the gas pedal. In response, her dear Chevy sputtered and croaked in defiance, smoke oozing out from in front of her.

"Fuck." She hissed, pulling over on the side of the road with a screech and a horrible slide from the wet, slippery roads. Even her windshield wipers were clogging up with the rain that was freezing over on top of her window and slowing down.

Erin pulled on the breaks, turning her ignition off, just sitting in her seat as she fumed. Then, she started smashing her fists against her steering wheel, the horn going off, honking away with each blow. She shouted, banged her feet on the floor, smashed her entire body back against her seat. Her tantrum inside of her car did nothing but injure herself. But it felt good, felt much better than keeping everything locked inside of herself like she was used to.

After she had shouted herself raw, and had pounded her fists and banged her knees, she was left alone in the car. Everything was too warm, and her head pounded painfully with the oncoming of a headache. But her chest no longer felt heavy and in pain, so she was content and exhausted enough to rest her forehead against her steering wheel until someone heard her horn going on and on in that loud way that she had started to block out with the sound of her heart beating in her ears.

Her thought was right, someone did show up, frightening her by knocking on her window. It was a woman not much older than she was, maybe 18 or 19. She was dressed in a pair of long pants and a pink hoodie, hair long and curled. She looked like she was apart of the Quileute Tribe, as her skin was a copper color and her features were strong with dark eyes, straight jaw and naturally pursed, red-ish lips. Though that could have been her own look of distaste that she had written there. _Must have driven farther than I thought,_ Erin mused as she opened the door and stepped out underneath the trees, which blocked them from the rain.

"Car trouble?" The woman asked, crossing her arms over her ample chest, looking almost amused.

Erin shrugged, leaning back against the cold blue body of her car, looking where the smoke was coming out and beginning to dissipate into the air. "You could say that."

She looked her over a few times before putting her hand out. Her palms were lighter than the rest of her skin, pinker. "I'm Leah Clearwater."

Erin took it, surprised at how absolutely hot she felt when she was only in a sweatshirt and jeans in the middle of the cold, Washington rain. She must have hand warmers in her pockets to keep this toasty. "Erin Oakes. Good to meet ya, Leah."

Leah nodded once before taking her hand back and looking at her smoking Mustang and then back at her. "I know someone who can get you back on the road. Faster than calling any towing company around here, if you want."

She gave her a half-smile and wiped the rain off of her forehead. "That sounds great. Thanks."

The taller girl gestured with her strong chin towards the forest trail, and Erin followed her towards the reservation.

She rarely went to the local Quileute hang out since moving to the area. The only few times that she went were during the rare summers that she stayed in Forks, and that was only to surf the waves and find banana slugs. Things hadn't really changed since the last time she was there, either. It even smelt the same, of trees, salt water and mud.

Leah and Erin spoke a little during the trip to her father's house. Questions like, 'Live around here?', 'Where'd you buy your car?', and other such pleasantries.

She asked the other girl why she had been so far away from town, and Leah then had pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket, handing it to her. It was a Missing Persons flyer, with a picture of a sturdy looking, if thin man on it. The name 'Samuel Uley' underneath it, along with his description and height.

"My boyfriend. He's been missing for two weeks." Leah said sadly, her eyes drawn down to the forest floor.

"Who saw him last?" She asked, studying the photograph on the flyer.

"Billy Black, one of the Elders. But he won't tell me anything about what they talked about, just some bullshit made-up crap that he was 'stressed' and 'overwhelmed'. Sam wasn't like that, he was always the calm one... The worst part is that he doesn't want me to go looking for him. Neither does my Dad or any other of the Elders. It's like they all know something I don't, and they're trying to keep it from me!" The taller girl stressed, her shoulders getting stiff and tight before she kicked a large pinecone out of her way, it spiraling away and falling into a dirty puddle.

Erin licked her drying mouth, dragging her teeth over her upper lip. She wasn't good at comforting people, she was the last person to ever offer good advice. With another hesitant look at brooding Leah, she ran her hand up over her tightly braided hair, shaking it out before letting her fingers fall.

"Well.. Sam looks like a good guy, and if he knows you, then he'll definitely come back. You're too pretty to keep away from, Leah." She drawled, looking ahead at the house they were coming up to, rather than at the girl who was clearly watching her now.

"Thanks." She said finally as they walked up the small steps to the back porch of the house. Leah took her inside and picked up an old home phone, dialing a number quickly.

Erin took this time to look around in her surroundings. It was a nice looking home, if a bit small. Family photos on the wall with a younger looking Leah, a young boy, and her parents behind her. One of the photos was just of Leah and her mother. Her mother was very kind looking, with long black hair and crows feet in the corners of her eyes. Her arms were around Leah in a warm embrace as they both looked at the camera and smiled brightly.

The sound of Leah clearing her throat ripped her attention away from the photo on the wall. She was looking at her oddly.

"I told him where your car is. He'll be towing it back to his place, and we can go over there in an hour." She said plainly.

"Thanks, Leah." She said, letting herself lean against the blue wall of her kitchen.

The taller girl shrugged, grabbed the back of one of the kitchen chairs and straddled it. "So. What were you running from?" She asked, pulling her long black hair over her shoulder.

Erin looked at her sharply, eyes straining to see the blurry edges of Leah and her accusing facial expression. She sighed, knocking her sore knuckles against the drywall behind her. "You caught that through my bullshit, did you?" She asked wryly. The taller girl scoffed, giving her a haughty look that said 'Of course I did, dumb bitch.' or something similar, black eyebrows raised expectantly.

"I'm not running from anything. I just needed to... _breathe_." She expressed, putting out her hand, outreached and fingers stretched to explain the feeling. Erin closed her hand into a fist, fingers complaining at the action. No doubt bruises were already developing.

Leah didn't look like she understood the feeling, but was nice enough not to say it to her face. "Well.. If you ever need to 'breathe' you're welcome to drive down here. That is, if that Chevy of yours can survive the trip after this."

The younger got the hint with the subject change. "Don't take a shot at the mustang, sister." She ordered, pointing at her, the shiny ring's heavy face swinging side to side on her too-small finger.

* * *

Leah took her to where her Mustang was, which was only a few minutes away in the reservation.

"That's Billy." She murmured down to her bitterly as a man in a cowboy hat and seated in a wheelchair rolled down the ramp and towards the garage where her blue baby was being cared for, away from the rain.

"Hey there Leah. M'am." Billy tilted his hat towards Erin as he got into the concrete floored garage, where the wheels of his chair rode more smoothly. "This your car huh? She's beautiful." He complimented her, looking towards the car. A boy came from the garage door, hair long and carrying a large case of coolant in one hand and a case of oil in the other.

"Your only trouble was that your engine overheated. No idea how you managed to pull that off in this weather." Billy raised his brows at her accusingly, as if she had done something to her baby to get her to steam over, but Erin only looked at him plainly and waited for him to continue. He did after his son capped the two bottles and walked over to them, only giving a glance to Leah, who still looked a bit angry being close to the Black family.

"Jake here cooled her off, checked her out. Should run without problem now." When she turned her look to the tall teen, who was no older than 16, he gave a nod of affirmation.

"I didn't even know that Chevy made Mustangs." Billy said, almost an accusation in his voice. She could see why Leah wasn't happy being around the old guy...

"Cool." Erin said, ignoring his look while reaching in her pocket and pulling out her black wallet. "What do I owe you?" She asked, pulling out a few bills from the large stack inside.

Billy shook his hand. "No more than fifty. Any mechanic will tell you the same." He said to her. Erin gave them seventy-five, and the long-haired teen didn't complain at the sight of extra money when he pocketed it with a grin.

"Thanks for the help." She said as she removed the keys from her coat pocket.

"See you around." Leah called to her as she pulled out of the Black's garage. Erin put her hand to her ear, mouthing 'call me' before driving back towards the road, feeling much better after the experience at the reservation with Leah Clearwater, even if it only lasted an hour at the most.

The drive back to the Cullen's started with slow rock in a gentle tune that she felt much more at ease with compared to when she left. Though that could have been the slight smell of weed that lingered around one of the houses she passed. _Someone was angry with their parents,_ she mused calmly as she drove down the road. The rain had stopped in an odd moment of luck for Erin.

A blur of yellow flashed in her rear view mirror, catching her eye briefly. Then, there was someone in front of her, making her screech to a stop, almost hitting the figure. She recognized that figure... _Dammit._

"Jasper!? What the hell, I almost hit you full fucking frontal!" She cursed as her mate got into her passenger seat quickly. Her good mood ruined by that miniature panic-attack, she glared at Jasper, who looked a mixture of angry and worried.

"Where did you go!?" He shouted at her, making her roll her eyes as she once again starting to drive. Right when the rain stopped...

"Calm down, _Mom_ , I had to get out of there." Erin said, tightening her jaw to keep from snapping at him.

"I thought you weren't comin' back. Then, when Alice suddenly couldn't _see_ you anymore-" He cut himself off, putting his hands over his face as he took in heavy and deep breaths.

She looked back at him, her brows furrowed. "What do you mean Alice couldn't see me?"

Jasper ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back, only for it to fall back into his face. "She said she just saw you driving. Then it went black, you disappeared from her, Erin."

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine." She muttered, trying to keep from reacting to the frightening news that she vanished from Alice's vision.

"You scared _everyone_ , especially me!" Jasper stressed to her, trying to catch her eye at the red light. But she kept her lips shut just then, trying to focus in on what's happening on the road, the blurriness giving her enough reason to keep her sight on the cars in front of her.

"You can't continue keeping your emotions locked inside of you, Erin." He advised her, his voice low and cool, despite being angry with her. "It's not healthy. Please talk to me, sweetheart." Her arms stiffened, her vision shaking as she pressed the gas pedal once again and continued back down the road towards her own house. If Jasper noticed, he didn't care, because he just settled back down into the seat.

"I'm sorry I scared everyone." She finally said to him, parking into her old driveway before turning and leaning her head against his chest, resting her stiff neck. Erin felt him take a breath through his nose, and his arms moved around her shivering shoulders.

"Don't do that again..." He said, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head before pulling her into him tight. Inside, the Major was seething. She smelt like one of _them._

* * *

 **Yeah I brought Leah into this.**

 **R &R**


	25. Chapter 25

**Edited by 5/16/16**

* * *

The news that Joan Oakes had left Forks spread through town like a wildfire. And the news that she hadn't taken her daughter with her sent it into a horrible frenzy of accusations and made up stories about the poor young girl whose mother abandoned her, things like the woman was a criminal who had gotten caught and had to leave the town behind. Or the IRS had found out problems with her taxes, things like that. Joan became the ugly villain, while Erin became their very own fucking Harry Potter.

The fact that the good Doctor Cullen had taken in the orphaned girl into his home had also spread, and now Carlisle had become a kind of savior in the eyes of the small town of Forks. A hero, saving a young girl from her awful mother.

For some reason unknown to Erin, people began to believe it was appropriate to show up on the Cullen's doorstep with quiches, casseroles and pies on hand in their ugly Tupperware to give their 'condolences' to the sad, sweet orphan. When really, for most of the visitors, it was their chance to try to get a hook into the Cullen family by showing their regret.

Specifically, Jessica Stanley and her mother, who showed up the Thursday before school started with a container filled with brownies. Mrs. Stanley herself wasn't AS horrible. She spoke with a light Texan accent and had a nice smile and ringlet curls in her hair. But it didn't take a genius to know why the two showed up. After all, Mrs. Stanley was the biggest gossip in town, she might as well have been a News anchor rather than a bank teller. It was difficult to keep her out of the house, the woman was so headstrong, eventually Esme was forced to lead her into the kitchen, while Jessica kept to Erin like a goddamn tick on a jack rabbit.

Edward actually had to avoid downstairs altogether, along with Emmett and Alice. The only one who could stand the Stanley's at all was Rosalie, who also could silence Jessica with a single sharp look. It became useful when the girl started asking questions that neither of them wanted to answer.

"So uhm.. I hope you like the brownies. I made them from scratch." Jessica said, looking cautiously at the tall blonde who was sitting across from her and then back to the girl who was looking at her like she was the funniest thing on Earth.

"Cyanide or rat poison?" Erin asked, a devilish smile on her face as she watched Jessica Stanley look more and more uncomfortable in her presence. Surprisingly, the girl sat through their casual mock of her character like a champ.

Jessica let out a forceful sounding chuckle. "You're so funny. How is it that you and I have never hung out together before?"

"Because until now you didn't know I existed." She said with a pleased tone of voice, raising one dark eyebrow at her. She had the curtsy to look sorry and falsely ashamed, though it would only take a small question to Edward to know what she was really thinking in that pretty head of hers.

"Oh noooo." Rosalie said, an icy smirk on her gorgeous face. She was enjoying this almost as much as Erin was, torturing this horrible gossip who tried to get information out of the juicy new topic in town. Jessica turned a blotchy shade of red just then. Then, in a miraculously smart move, the human girl got up and joined her Mother, just as she was about to leave.

"Finally." Edward sighed, coming down from the top of the stairs, rubbing his hand through his tousled copper hair like he had a headache. "Her thoughts are FAR worse up close." He complained, stepping down into the living room the two girls.

"Thinking about you and your dick again? Or this time just being an overall whore-faced bitch?" Erin asked through a mouthful of one of the brownies.

"Both." He said begrudgingly, sitting down next to her. She patted his shoulder with her non-chocolate covered hand. "Get over it." She said while chewing.

"Your eating habits are disgusting." Rose said snidely, looking pointedly at her chocolate-covered teeth and hands.

"Your eating habits include Bambi's jugular." She returned, pointing a finger at her. Edward scoffed next to her, grabbing her by the sleeve before physically picking her up.

"Go wash your hands you troll, before you mess up Esme's furniture." He said, making her laugh derisively and kick at his stone knee-caps.

The day before Monday, the cursed first day of the new Semester, was the day that Charlie Swan once again made a trip to the large Cullen household. At his side was Minister Weber, who was dressed as a full blown priest, looking _sorry_ for her.

It took everything that Erin had inside her not the slam the door in their faces as hard as she possibly could. Her abdomen was stiff and flexed with all her power so she would stay rooted in place. Thank whoever that Carlisle was home that day, because he came up behind her and prevented her from possibly getting a fine, if there was such a fine for slamming a door on an officer and a priest's face.

"Chief Swan." Carlisle said, putting a hand on her shoulder, gingerly pushing her behind him, expecting her poor reaction to the men's presence.

"I'm sorry about this, Doctor." Charlie said, trying to meet Erin's eye, despite her fervently glaring at the ground. Her hand grasped the back of Carlisle's shirt, tightening her grip in the fabric, filled with dread as she expected the officer to try to take her away from the Cullen house forcefully.

"I'm sure you've had enough of this all week." He said again, though now his voice had admiration in it, much like a lot of the other visitors they've had. "But I wanted to come by with the Father here to offer Erin our condolences." He gestured with one gloved hand to the shorter man next to him, who looked filled with sympathy and was looking _right at her._ As if he stared her down enough, she'd actually talk to him. _Good luck with that, Padre._ Erin thought bitterly as Carlisle and Chief Swan continued to speak with each other.

"Please, come in." He said, making her look up with wide, startled and insistent eyes at him, her hands making fists in the back of his shirt, knuckles turning white. The man didn't look down at her though, only gently moved them both back to offer the two inside.

She was almost expecting for Father Weber to start wailing at the unholiness of the home, but unfortunately the man simply walked in through the home with a calm look on his aging face. Erin let go of the blonde's shirt, putting them in her sweater pockets to hide her purple knuckles.

"I'm sure you know that since Erin's mother terminated her parental rights over her, that now she'll likely end up a ward of the state." Charlie started, but the usual punch in her gut that would accompany the thought of being taken away didn't occur. Jasper was listening in.

"We've tried to contact your father's platoon, but there's been no response at all on their part." That one sentence managed to bypass Jasper's control over her, sending her heart racing with panic. Swan seemed to notice that, because he continued on, trying to be more sensitive.

"You have several other family members who can take you in, but they're all out of state, and I'm sure that you wouldn't want to be forced to leave... I'm telling you this, because I would be willing to talk on your behalf to have you stay here with Doctor Cullen and his family. He's a certified foster father, legally he'd only need your Grandparent's say so for you to stay. If you were any younger, this wouldn't be available to you. But since you turn eighteen this year, they'd be willing to allow you to choose. It'd be unfair for you to uproot your life just because the State says so." Chief Swan explained to her. Then, he looked to the Padre.

"The Church in town has a program for kids who've lost their parents. It's completely up to you, but I'd like you to _consider_ going to at least one meeting if you decide to stay."

It wasn't until he was finished that she realized that Esme had joined the room and had her hands over her shoulders.

Erin looked back towards the Chief, who was offering her a reluctant grin. It wasn't that hard to guess that he didn't often have to be faced with this kind of situation often. Though he didn't look as nearly uncomfortable as he did the last time he came by to talk to her. An odd feeling of endearment edged it's way in her heart as she looked at the man with a big bushy mustache and an awkward smile.

"Thank you." She found herself saying. To her absolute surprise, it actually sounded genuine and not even a little bit forced. She _actually_ kinda liked this guy, despite her experience with the police. Charlie Swan wasn't a bad person.

"I want to stay here." Erin said forcefully, though without a smile. "What'll happen to the house?" She asked, fiddling with the ring on her finger.

"The deed was changed to your name, and the bills on it are all paid off. For all intents and purposes, it belongs to you." Charlie shrugged his shoulders, looking baffled, like he had been thinking about this particular part of this 'mystery' for some time.

"It looks to me that she wanted you to stay here." He said, though it was mostly to himself.

* * *

School that Monday was possibly the worst day of her life.

Everyone was staring at her, their eyes glued to her hooded figure like she was some kind of mother fucking celebrity guest star. There was not one person who didn't turn their heads when she walked by. It came to the point that she had to be accompanied to her new classes by a Cullen clan member, who all somehow managed to be in a class with her, whether it was mainstream or an elective, there was always a pale, golden eyed bodyguard at her side.

Emmett was the most enthusiastic about the task as he walked her to the Gym, now somehow sharing the class with her despite being a senior, and began pointing out and intimidating anyone who even started to open their mouth around her to talk. His booming laughter echoing in the halls was enough to lighten some of her spirits and get into the routine with him. However, when he left her to the girls locker room, the whispers began up again, as if they were subtle at all. Lauren Mallory specifically was the loudest, and was practically begging her to smash her fist into her jaw.

Erin took her frustrations out during a cliche game of dodgeball, managing several hits to the loudmouthed girl as well as a poor loser who managed to get in the way of her ball, effectively breaking his already taped-together glasses and leaving him benched.

The only other incident that day was when Alice accompanied her to her English class (an English class that Alice definitely WAS NOT enrolled in last semester. Somehow, Alice's English grade dropped so low that somehow she ended up in Erin's Beginning Creative Writing class.)

During the teacher's lecture about the use of symbolism, the other girl had zoned out, her eyes getting clouded over with obvious signs of a vision. Then the elfin-sized vampire's hands began shaking, her eyes were blinking rapidly, and a too-wide smile was on her face. Her smile alone freaked Erin out so much that she actually had to clamp her hand over Alice's mouth to stop her from letting out a loud, ear-shattering scream. Hell, her face looked 2 parts excited and one part funhouse clown.

"I-I saw her." She whispered to her, silvery looking liquid overflowing in Alice's eyes, but not falling out. "I saw her!" The vampire practically sobbed, grasping onto Erin's hands tightly, holding them to her chest.

* * *

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	26. Chapter 26

**The most reviews ever! Wow Geez!**

* * *

"Ow ow ow ow, son-of-a-bitch Alice!" Erin complained as the other girl's grip on her wrist tightened. She was pried off of her by Jasper, who was observing the two of them interact with extreme caution as he brought her wrist up to meet his lips against the tender skin, not even internally flinching when his teeth gently grazed her pulse point. The need to slaughter was barely there with her there.

Erin then retrieved her fork and pointed it at Edward. "Your turn. I don't have enough calcium in my bones to handle Sugar-Strings over here." Then, she stabbed the plastic fork into a piece of dry teriyaki chicken that was on her plate.

"Do you even know her name?" Rosalie asked, leaning over on her elbows towards her sister. Alice shook her head, but that didn't stop her excitement and total joy over the fact that she had finally had a hint of who her mate actually was.

"No. But I saw her. She's so beautiful, oh my _god_." She put her hands up to her cheeks, patting them with her fingertips, expecting her mascara to be running, despite that the venom in her eyes couldn't overflow from her tear ducts anymore.

Edward bumped shoulders with Alice, looking at her with actual happiness in his usually bored looking eyes. "I saw that. It was weird seeing that through your eyes. Kinda made me feel uncomfortable." He said with a half-smile. She smacked his shoulder playfully before going back to gazing into her bowl of soup, dazed and looking like a lovesick fool.

Erin's own lovesick fool had his hand on her waist, the other holding her none-fork holding hand, the feeling of his fingers successfully distracting her from her food, and he obviously knew it. Ever since she found out about her Mother skipping town, he'd been much more at ease with touching her in public. Well, more like he was more at ease with touching her in ways that weren't meant to express his claim over her.

Though there was something nagging in the back of her head and she recognized it as her forgetting something obviously important, but her attention was being dragged every which way, before towards her mother, to the horrid amount of fucking tuna casseroles in Esme's fridge, then only the beginning of a long line of legal documents that Carlisle was gathering together for her, and now to Alice and her sudden vision of her soulmate. Whatever she forgot could just stay in the file in the back of her head until the mess that was in front of her was arranged.

* * *

When they returned from school, Alice was eagerly speaking with the family about her mate, about everything she knew and assumed from the vision she had gotten.

It was enough of a chatter that Erin was able to escape upstairs, alone for the first time in a long time. It was enough to let her take an almost relieved breath of fresh air before ducking into the bathroom. It was effectively the only room in the entire house that _only_ she used everyday. She looked into the mirror after completing her business, her eyes landing on the circles underneath her eyes, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

She had hoped that her trouble sleeping lately would have been more hidden by make up. Erin swept her fingertips underneath her eyes, feeling the slightly-greasy makeup residue on them. There was a tingling of disgust in her stomach as she continued to rub her greasy fingers together. It grew to the point that she turned the sink on, and started to wash her hands roughly to get the feeling of it off of her.

Then, she turned her attention to her face, getting more liquid soap in her hands before washing all the foundation and eyeliner off her face, the churning in her stomach and the sudden onset of _pain_ in her chest almost crippling her. The water and the bubbles circled down the drain, but her face still felt too slick, so she wiped her face vigorously with one of the pure white hand towels, leaving her red-faced. Erin leaned heavily against the countertop, not knowing that her expression would look so goddamned _pathetic_ when she looked up.

Her hands tightened into fists, the rings on her fingers clenching around her flesh when flexed and turning her knuckles white.

She couldn't let it out. Couldn't just break down, she had been holding it in perfectly before, it was too much to just let it all falling out. But Erin's reign on her emotions wasn't strong enough and it began to overwhelm her.

A choke escaped out of her mouth and the normally controlled girl backed away from the mirror and into the bathtub, grabbing hold of the shower curtain which gave way from her harsh grip on it and fell around her as she ducked herself as far as she could against the end of the porcelain tub. There were no actual thoughts in her head, but pictures. Memories. She had no fairy-tale moments with her Mother, there was no guess about the woman's character after her parent's divorce, but she always assumed that she had at least _loved_ her. Cared about her in some way, enough to deal with her until she was 18 and inevitably followed a rock star concert to concert all around the world. But instead of that, instead of simply waiting until it was over with, Joan couldn't stand her long enough and she actually had to _run away_ from her.

Left with nothing but a house in the hills.

What was the point of it all if this was her end plan? Of fighting for her custody, of fighting Esme and Carlisle for her to come home? Was all of that just a way to make it that much more prominent that she had always needed Joan far more than she had ever needed her?

When in her life had she felt any kind of love for her daughter? Thrown away her cigarettes one time. Picked her up from school until the day she was 15. Dragged her around and used her father as a reason for getting the attention of wealthy, famous women that she felt were worth her time. Left in hotel rooms alone, left at soccer games alone, left home alone, forgotten about most days and then eventually discarded completely.

Her final fucking laugh, her final kick was leaving her with this knife in the back where she had to deal with the horrible feeling inside of her. It wasn't fair.

Clutching at the plastic coated shower curtain, she breathed hotly, letting it cover and encompass over her. It wasn't until she felt hands on her shoulders, pulling the curtain away that she realized that Jasper was there. Shame flushed over her, clinging to her grief and becoming like a complete tornado that made her vampire look like he was in agony as it grabbed him and forced him into it's whirlwinds.

Jasper lifted her out of the bathtub, letting her grab at his shirt and hair in her effort to complain and hide her tear-stained face. Compared to the knee-crippling pain he was feeling from her, it was welcome. She had been close to dead silent upstairs, only he and Edward noticed her panic attack. The others were still listening intently to Alice.

He carried her to what was now their bedroom, his body stiff and uncomfortable as he struggled to be strong for her, when all he wanted to do was break down with her, as the grief was sticking to him like gum, worse than any human victim's fear he'd dealt with in the past. The Major, inside him and fighting to escape and destroy the pain that was clinging to his mate, wasn't helping his concentration any. He managed to whisper between the bars to her, willing her to calm her crying and soothe the ache in her chest with gentle goading by his gift.

Erin, to his relief, had begun to relax her grip in time for him to let her into their bed. With that small amount of comfort the Major offered, it also settled the feeling in his own stomach that was likely mimicking her agony.

So, with some hesitation, Jasper let him out.

"My Dearest." He murmured to her with a voice like honey though it was filled with pain. His hands raised to her face, thumbs wiping away her tears. "I'm so sorry." Major muttered, resting his forehead on her much hotter one. He let his gift wash over her like the ocean onto the shore, intense feelings of serenity and calm soothing her pain-filled heart.

His hands ran through her hair, slowly, again and again, feeling her settle into exhaustion. Her panic attack had drained her of energy and was now drawing her eyelids closed. Major and Jasper both had noticed her new sleeping habits. It took her hours to fall asleep now, and her rest wasn't easy anymore. Erin would wake up in the middle of the night now. Sometimes, she would pretend she hadn't, and attempted to return to slumber. Occasionally, she would go downstairs to retrieve a hidden snack or pick out a drink while she was there before returning to him. But each time, no matter what she did to try to disguise her jolt away, it worried him.

Major felt her drift into sleep, hopefully too exhausted to dream, and pulled the covers over her body.

Edward would of course be demanding answers about what had happened to Erin, he figured. While pleased that his mate had someone else to depend on other than himself, he still preferred to be the one she held onto in times of need. His brother was extremely fond of his girl despite their foolish squabbling and childish name-calling, and Major was forced to concede his approval about their relationship.

Feeling said brother's presence, he stood and faced the ginger-haired man, walking over to him with his arms behind his back. He closed the door lightly behind him.

"Is she alright now?" Edward asked worriedly, his eyebrows drawn up in concern. Major gave him a nod, taking in the feeling of worry and concern into him and flowing out affirmation and calm back to his shorter brother.

He put his hand up against the wall, looking much like Jasper himself had when he had found Erin in the bathtub. "We should tell Carlisle." Edward said at a speed that hopefully not even those below them could hear their silent conversation. "He'll know how to help her. He knows psychiatrists that can-"

"No." Major shut that idea down quickly. "No psychiatrists and no Doctors other than Carlisle himself. She will resist and fight _all_ of us if we even begin to bring it up. Erin's scared, and she's already shuttin' her emotions out. We don't need to give her a reason to hide more from us." He said sternly, but Edward was very prepared to fight him against his decision, but his aggravation was met with the swift feeling of submission and acceptance that Major forced him to swallow down.

The shorter tightened his fists, but relented, being reminded who he was talking to wasn't one to make quick and unwise decisions. So Edward kept quiet about the incident for the time being, letting Jasper's promise about bringing up the topic to Erin about a psychiatrist when he felt she was prepared for it tide him over.

Over the coming week, Erin wasn't left alone. At home, at the grocery store with Esme, in her Art class and inside her car, her blonde Boy Scout was at her side always.

But instead of annoyance, she mostly just felt guilt and embarrassment. She put him through hell with her freak out in the bathroom, that pained look on his face stuck in her mind like a foil-backed sticker in her skull.

Jasper tried to keep her talking. About anything and everything in the world. He had attempted to bring up her mother, about what she wanted to do with the house Joan had left behind, but Erin had shot those down with a firm hand and an uncontrollably frightened look in her tired eyes. He was in pain over his strong, strong girl being brought down to her foundations over the woman who had broken her heart. It was too much. So he had taken the Major's example, and soothed her pain. With a simple stroke of his hand, her strains and aches in her chest would dissipate. Jasper tried not to do it constantly, only until her mind forgot again, but it seemed that the ache would never allow itself to go away long enough.

Finding his hand forced, he used his gift more often than not.

Darker circles appeared under his eyes just as Erin's began to finally, _finally_ lighten. His constant attention, while tiring, gave his mate the peace she needed. He hadn't even noticed the burning in the back of his throat until Alice reminded him of their hunt, too focused on his girl who was sleeping soundly for the first time in days. Reluctantly, he went with her. Even in his exhausted state, he caught several bucks and drained them dry with the hope that it would tide him over longer than two weeks.

When Jasper returned, eyes freshly butterscotch colored, Erin was awake and swallowing down a bright teal capsule of NyQuil with a cup of milk, Esme behind her and rubbing her back.

It took only two days to restore the shadows to his eyes again, so once again he was forced to act and try to pretend he wasn't exhausted around his Erin, who he was sure if he let his fatigue slip to her, she would demand he stop controlling her emotions. He had to do this, to help her recover long enough to get professional help from Carlisle... But it was at that point that Edward decided to let out his frustration at the secrets he was keeping for him.

He shouted and yelled at his brother, more riled up than he's ever been, pacing and waving his arms around and gesturing angrily towards the blonde, who was so fatigued that he couldn't even muster up the effort to calm the other down.

Carlisle, who had been holding his first son by his shoulders, then turned his disappointed and angry look towards his oldest and youngest. Erin was holding her arms tightly, Esme and Rosalie with her, looking away from his gaze and down towards the floor. The man who was the closest thing she had to a parent was now using his 'Doctor' voice on both Jasper and herself. First to reprimand Jasper from hiding her symptoms from everyone with his gift, and then to Erin for holding her emotions in so tightly that it was now flooding her completely.

He went to her then, looking miserable as he looked over the obvious signs of stress she was displaying now that her feelings were once again her own. To Carlisle's completely relief, she didn't seem to have signs of depression or post traumatic stress. Grief and anger were clear in her actions though, in the way she looked and the way she avoided his eyes with her nails dug into the couch cushions.

"You need a psychiatrist, Erin." He told her, holding her arms and trying to reel in his guilt for not noticing her troubles before it had all gone to hell. Instantly he was resisted by her.

"No! I'm not crazy, I don't need a fucking crackpot stranger asking me how I _feel._ I'll get over this on my own." She stated firmly, though he didn't let up.

"No. No you're not going to be able to do this all by yourself, Erin." Carlisle told her, trying to ignore the way his wife physically shook next to him. "Please, let us help you. You're not going to be considered weak for admitting this."

"Resistance is futile." Edward quoted, trying to at least bring a smile to Erin's face. He got a small smirk from her for his remark.

* * *

 **You thought this was going to be fun and about Alice's mate didn't you? Or an introductions towards the first book**

 **instead i shoved this in your face**

 **enjoy the angsty stuff nerds**

 **R &R**


	27. Chapter 27

That was how she ended up in Minister Weber's glorified self-help group. Sitting in a goddamn circle with 5 other people and a fucking grief counselor. She had absolutely refused the one-on-one professional psychiatrist that Carlisle recommended, despite his Doctor voice and stern expressions. Thankfully, Edward was on her side for this, and told him that it would be impossible to get her to see Doctor Whatever-ski with her mindset.

So this was their compromise. For him to drive her to the Weber home every Saturday morning for two hours.

It was much better compared to being forced onto a couch in front of a quack-head therapist, Erin figured, bitterly, as she slumped into the couch in the Weber's abode. There was only one other underaged person there, a young looking fourteen year old with orange hair and glasses, while the others were adults. Two of them were elderly with white and grey hair with long lines of wrinkles on their faces and smelling strongly of peppermint and heavy perfume. Lost their wife, husband to old age and were quickly aiming to join them. The other was a woman who had gone through a miscarriage who looked like she had been hit by a maverick and clearly didn't want to be there anymore than Erin herself did.

"Erin." Mr. Weber, or Henry, as he had asked them all to call him, spoke up to her. "How are you doing today?" He inquired gently, as if waiting for her to evaporate into tears, like the others often did.

As she usually did, she simply rose her eyes to meet the man's kind brown ones, and shrugged. "'M fine." Erin said plainly, keeping her arms crossed over her chest in a protective stance.

"Really? That's very good." Henry said, sounding very pleased. "Have you found a date to clear out the house yet? Your guardian tells me that you mentioned it after the last session."

Uncomfortable beyond belief, she turned her eyes to the staircase to the side of her, trying not to respond negatively like she desperately wanted to. Holding it in, Erin grunted out a 'no'.

"Don't have any time to." She muttered her excuse to him, shifting in her seat.

"Ah yes." Henry moved in his chair, putting his arms on his knees. "I hear from my daughter that the teachers have really been packing the work down on you. How are you doing in your classes, Erin?" He asked eagerly.

Erin thought that he couldn't have found a topic she cared about less. Never once had she ever opened one of her report cards that showed up at her doorstep, but nor had a teacher ever called her up to their desk to complain to her about her lack of effort towards her grades. An amazing feat, considering the little amount of care that she showed towards her homework assignments and projects. During any group assignment, the unfortunate soul that ended up paired with her ended up doing all the work while Erin simply wrote her name in the corner after they were finished, and then gave the rare vocal presentation.

"Fine." She said finally. Then, the sound of footsteps at the staircase brought Henry's attention off of her, which was a damn relief. Mr. Weber had a daughter who was around her age, named Angela. Erin had seen her plenty of times, but had never talked to her before and never had bothered to really remember to paint a name to the girl's face. Not really feeling bad about it, she watched the other girl recognize her for a split second on her way down the stairs.

"Hey Dad." Angela greeted her father before ducking into the kitchen so as not to interrupt the group, but it wasn't at all subtle when the teenager turned her head back to the circle before turning the corner.

Erin escaped the house once the session was over, breathing in the damp air, thankful for it being stronger than the old lady perfume that she had just been inhaling inside.

Emmett and Rosalie were waiting for her in the Jeep parked out on the road, rap music playing obnoxiously out of the pounding speakers. The large vampire waved at her, and she walked over to the massive car and climbed up into the back. Then, Rosalie pressed on the gas and jerked Erin around who was mid-climb into the backseat. She complained instantly, threatening to dent the car door with her boot, making Emmett snort and laugh like cannons were continuously going off.

* * *

On that oncoming Monday, Carlisle and Esme excused her from school and drove her to Seattle, where they were going to meet up with her Grandparents to retrieve their permission to let Erin remain with the Cullen family. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred and Chiasa Oakes had flown in from San Francisco when they were called by Erin. The two had not taken the news well and had nothing but deep disappointment for their daughter, and had been completely accommodating to her by flying in as quickly as possible.

The long drive to Seattle was primarily taken up by the traffic in the large city. It took them half an hour to get to her Grandparent's hotel which wasn't even a mile away from them when they first drove into the city. Carlisle was visibly kind of ticked off with the slow moving vehicles in front of him, making Esme smile smugly and look at her husband pointedly.

The Sheraton Seattle Hotel was a ridiculously tall, silver building with tons of rooms with dozens of extravagant amenities inside, which was suited to her Grandfather's tastes perfectly.

The lobby was strongly reminiscent of a slightly warmer version of the Cullen's living room, with windows everywhere and lavish decorations and sofas. Esme looked extremely fond of the place as she looked around, keeping to Erin's leisurely pace beside her while Carlisle walked ahead to check with the desk.

"Oh this place has changed so much since the last time we were here." The woman gushed, golden eyes darting every which way, taking in every detail of the place. "The eighties was a nice time of course, but definitely not for fashion now that we look back on it." Esme said, making Erin smirk.

"Bet you had the biggest perm." She accused with eyebrows raised.

"You have no idea." Carlisle said as he walked towards them, his hands in his coat pockets. He looked at Erin directly, then. "They sent up a message to your Grandparent's rooms. I asked for them to meet us in the dining area for lunch." He said, grinning at her in a way that was much more comforting to her than when the grief counselor did. She felt herself returning his smile.

Carlisle put his hand on her shoulder, patting it before leading her towards the restaurant within the hotel. It was filled with noise, chattering from tourists and other kinds of business men and women who were staying there. It only took a few minutes to get seated, the service was so goddamn good there. Hell, it took Erin an hour to get the pizza guy to deliver to the Cullen house in a town of only a couple thousand.

Five menus were placed on the table, handed to the three of them and two where Alfred and Chiasa would be sitting.

When the two did arrive, of course it had to be in the most obvious way possible, with her Grandmother pointing them out with one wrinkled hand in such a vigorous way that it couldn't at all be easy for a woman her age.

Erin's Grandmother was a small woman with whitening hair, deep bags underneath her eyes, and liver spots on her forehead. She was not at all the prime example of 'aging gracefully' and nor was her husband. But Chiasa Oakes was a kind woman, with a smile on her face as she was lead by Alfred Oakes towards their table. Alfred Oakes was a tall, caucasian man with a large, pink-tipped nose, salt and pepper hair that was combed to the side neatly and who walked with a limp in his right leg.

"Hello darling." Alfred exclaimed, reaching over the table in order to take his small granddaughter into his arms. "Still short as a pod of peas, girl!" He commented humorously, patting Erin on the side of the face affectionately, making her earrings chime.

"Hey Pops." Erin greeted him, mimicking his action and patting on top of his padded shoulder.

"Watashi no magomusume o kon'nichiwa." Chiasa said to her with a pink smile before taking her hand firmly. Her Grandfather, ever the gentleman, pulled out the chair for his wife, making Carlisle and Esme both look to each other fondly.

Lunch was a very swift affair.

They ate, they talked (all the while very noticeably avoiding the topic of Joan. Erin was forced to assume that Esme had told them over the phone about her panic attack, making her left cheek twitch with clear irritation.) and her Grandparent's both signed off on the documents that Carlisle brought along with them, transferring their rights over Erin over to the two of them. Now, officially, she was apart of the Cullen family. All that was left was to send the documents to the State to notify them.

The return trip was made with a promise to her Grandparents to notify them about anything important happening, including her graduation date so they could attend.

Once home, Erin kicked off her high heels and fell into the love seat, groaning as she stretched out her tired limbs.

"Shut up." Edward said simply, without looking at her. He was more intent on the symphony that he had somehow managed to get on the television without the obvious signs of a brawl in the living room. When she drew her eyes up to the room again, she noticed that Emmett and Rosalie were very much not present, leading her to believe that the two left in protest to the boring crap that their brother insisted on playing.

 _Fuck off_ , she thought to him, resting her cheek on the arm of the chair. _Where's Alice and Jazzareno?_

"They're on a hunt again." He said, looking to her pointedly. A twinge in her chest and a blankness in the side of her head accompanied the knowledge.

And as if he was tired of reminding her about the consequences of her 'drug' addiction, despite her not knowing there WAS any side effects at all, Edward raised a large bushy brow at her. Erin had no idea that overusing of a gift would drain Jasper out so much. If she had, she wouldn't have let him control her emotions for so long, and now suddenly it was her fault.

"I'm not blaming you, Erin." Edward said firmly. She huffed, grabbing one of the throw pillows and putting it over her head. "Both of you were making bad decisions, but no one going to hold those against you." He continued, leaning towards her and shaking her shoulder that was bare from underneath the cushion.

"Got it?" He insisted, leaning down to look her in the eye. Erin turned away, but he just repeated his question louder.

"Yeah yeah, I fucking got it! Just- Can you tell me when they're coming back, _please_?"

Satisfied, the ginger pulled back and took the pillow with him. "Around six." He said, putting the pillow on his lap so his sister couldn't steal it back from him.

Again, she felt a pull at her navel, filled with discontentment at Alice and Jasper being alone together. Confused, but trying to keep it away from the mindreader, Erin began to think about the days events rather than her puzzling reactions.

"You're officially a Cullen now. How does it feel?" Edward said, not seeming to notice her deliberate hiding of her thoughts.

* * *

 **Is it getting more obvious that the closer I get to the plot of the first movie, the faster I update? because soon there will finally be structure? also will erin EVER get over her temporary memory loss? yes. But soon-ish? No.**

 **R &R**


	28. Chapter 28

The rain that started up over the next few days coupled up with a fresh wave of hail, falling down and bouncing off the black roads and sidewalks like frozen bullets and shrapnel. Still, small and slow that they were, the weather was enough to get Rosalie ticked off from the sheer amount of ice that was now coated over her usually impeccable red convertible.

It was a thin layer of frozen water that shone in the cloudy light, but it stuck to the windshield like the clap, making the tall, curvaeous blonde have to take out tools out of her shiny black tool box.

Erin was sitting atop the wooden railing, a black umbrella in hand, and watching as the blonde began the process of scraping the ice chunks and layer of frozen water off of her windshield. She had offered to help her, but Rosalie was intent on performing the task herself, letting the implied notion that the human would somehow accidentally fuck up her perfect ride come out with only a slight veil over it. And so, Erin was left to only observe with large, ear-muff like headphones were over her head, Lynyrd Skynyrd playing through them in his classic country-rock style tone of music. He was the only 'country' singer that she'd ever allow herself to listen to, unlike the kinds that were one footstep away from being the worst thing since Jim Crow.

As she hummed along to the tune, rocking back and forth dangerously on the railing, the girl didn't even notice the matching blonde to the woman she was watching come up behind her until she felt two arms of cool steel snake around her waist and pull her back into a firm, cotton covered chest.

The dark haired girl let her mouth curve up into a half-smile, feeling the indents of his perfectly sculpted chest against her back. Unfortunately, the railing was too high for her to feel a different bulging muscle that would likely be digging against her lower back.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, letting his chin rest in the crook of her neck.

Erin rolled her eyes, eager to ignore the question, very much not in the mood to talk about her feelings. She got enough of that in Group. "I should be asking you that." She said plainly, turning her eyes down to the little shiny new green iPod in her hand.

Jasper looked a bit shamed, but there was no mistaking the self-righteousness that was masked underneath it. "Carlisle says I should use _discretion_ in the future when it comes to using my gift." He murmured to her lowly, trying not to focus on his 'twin' that was looking their way with a sharp look in her beautiful golden eyes. Rosalie had been closer to Erin than usual lately, her and Emmett both were the first ones to offer to pick Erin up from the Weber's. And while the three of them got along pleasantly, there was no deep feeling of camaraderie from them, like there was with Edward or even Carlisle and Esme's brand of parental care that they displayed for their newest daughter like no other.

He didn't need to guess why his adoptive parents were so doting on his mate. With the rest of them, while they were changed when they were teenagers, they were very much grown up by their time's standards. They were independent, they didn't require any nurturing. But Erin needed parents, needed someone to watch out for her and pay her way out of jail, to keep her focused on her homework and studies. And Jasper was very much grateful for them and their influence on her. But it was times like those that he realized just how much older he was than her.

"Discretion? Is that all? Thought he'd lock you up in kryptonite before he ever let you off with a warning." Erin said dryly, feeling a real craving for one of those smoothly rolled cigars that she had last year when she had been dragged to Reno last year... _Damn, that seemed forever ago_ , she thought with a mild feeling of homesickness.

"He almost threatened to. I've never seen him actually yell at someone. Him or Ed." Jasper responded, using his mate's nickname for his adoptive brother. His girl let out a heavy breath and reached her hand behind her, running her chipped nail-polish covered nails through his blonde hair, scraping against his scalp and making him shudder with bone-tingling pleasure at her touch. He'd never get tired of that feeling.

"I should talk to him or something." She mumbled, continuing to push her fingers through his curly hair, only mildly surprised when the rings on her fingers didn't get caught.

"No. Let me first. _After_ we clear out your house." He said, sensing the feeling of dread in her tummy which he subtly smoothed away with a kiss to her cheek.

* * *

Forks High School was getting worse.

She didn't think that was possible, but it had effectively happened somehow overnight. This was of course, not her first Winter Semester there, but this was the first time that the Valentines Day decorations were done up far before the actual date. Everywhere, with every turn of her head, there were red and pink hearts. Streamers, balloons, flyers and flowers. It was like she walked into the hell where gaudy romance novelists went to get spiked in the ass by a heart-shaped arrow.

It wasn't even February, and yet every person was all-a-fucking flutter about the day of love.

Erin made it a point to boycott the holiday of love this year, and instead treated it as the day where a handful of people got slaughtered by the Mob. In fact, she made it a point to tear down every flyer and paper heart on her way through the halls, dumping them all into the trash before walking into her classes, causing several students who caught her to stop and gawk at her behavior.

Emmett found her rude actions extremely hysterical and actually assisted her by running his hand over the ceiling and pulling along with him the streamers that were in gaudy bright pink and red, held up by scotch tape.

Later, when sitting in the office, waiting for their inevitable detentions, Emmett's huge arm was protectively on top of the back of Erin's chair. This was the first time he'd ever been sent to the office, Emmett claimed with a smile.

"Liar." She deadpanned. The snort she got in response was enough to make her smirk.

"No really. First time ever. Well, at this school at least." He relented. Then, the large boy ducked in closer to her, pulling her chair in closer. "Last school we went to I got pissed at one of the teachers who liked Rosie a little too much. Sent his car to get crushed at the dump." He whispered with a huge, pink grin, laughter all over his face. Geez, she could just imagine him cackling his booming laughter on the way to the dump and paying some schmoe to crush that teachers stupid SUV. When he got a response, a chuckle out of Erin, he patted the back of her chair a little too roughly, leaving the plastic bent in a very obvious hand print of Emmett's fingers.

"Oh shit." She whispered humorously, putting her hand over her mouth so they wouldn't get busted for fucking up school property on top of their mild vandalism. His enormous hand darted away from the plastic, placing his fists in his lap just as the principal, a white-skinned man with glasses low on his nose, came in through the door.

He looked one kick away from being in a retirement home as he walked over to his desk chair. Poor old bastard practically had a stroke when he caught the sight of the two of them in his office. One huge, beautiful jock, and a girl the size of a mouse with an intimidating stare that was pointed right at _him._ With a stutter, Principal Stewart flattened his Loony Toons printed tie over his chest, feeling like he was being watched by his hag of a mother-in-law instead of two teenagers who he was supposedly the boss of.

Jesus Christ, that boy looked like his office was his goddamn summer home, he looked so comfortable sitting there.

"Hello y-you two. Cullen, Oakes. Why have you been brought to my office today?" He asked, tucking his hands underneath his desk to hide his shaking hands.

"Because we hate love." The girl said, making the beautiful boy grin in such a way that it made his heart beat faster. Christ, what the hell was wrong with him?

"W-well you know that tearing down things in the halls will not be tolerated you two. But I'll let you off with a warning for now. You should make it just in time for fifth period if you hurry, and remember not to do these things again." He said hurriedly, trying to focus on the small girl rather than the boy who was making him feel very uncomfortable by looking at him with that goddamned look in his eyes. He really needed to get back to his wife that evening.

"Yes sir." The tall Cullen boy said with a twinkle in his eye, winking at him so quickly that for a minute he thought he had hallucinated it, before walking out of his office with a large hand on the tiny girl's shoulder.

Principal Stewart almost collapsed face-first into his desk.

"You're a dirty boy." Erin accused as they walked through the halls towards her classroom.

"Yeah I am." Emmett said proudly, not even hiding his proficiency for making teachers question their sanity and sexuality with his looks.

"Rose is gonna have a field day with this." She declared ripping down a red paper heart from locker they passed by. The large boy scoffed, putting his hands behind his head and keeping tune with her footsteps as if it were a shore for him.

"Rosie's gonna laugh." He corrected her, leaving her at her classroom door before heading off towards his own Physics class.

* * *

 **Sorry that Chapter 30 isn't huge and exciting, but more like a filler chapter, but there is Emmett in it, so that's good still right?**

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	29. Chapter 29

**Edited by 5/16/16**

* * *

It was Esme who came home with dozens of boxes big and small while driving a U-Haul truck into the paved driveway.

Erin hadn't stepped foot into the house since she went to pick up her clothes and other things that she needed day to day. Everything else remained there gathering dust. Hell, ever since she let it slip that she'd be selling the house, the caramel-haired women took it upon herself to get everything prepared, to make it easy for her youngest daughter. But, before any realtors could come knocking around on doors, they had to clear it out. Which meant that she'd actually have to go inside it again. Granted, she wouldn't be going alone. The entire family was going to be assisting with the removal of the furniture and the tedious task of sorting through the attic and all the old boxes up there.

"The faster we do this, the faster you can sell the house." Carlisle said to her gently, a hand on her shoulder as Esme packed bubble wrap and tons of packages of packing tape into the truck. All of that would likely be gone by the end of the excursion.

"I know that." She replied, fiddling with the tip of her gloves that didn't quite fit to her fingers. It was chilly that Friday morning, despite the sun peaking out through the few clouds.

"We'll be there with you." Jasper said, walking over to her and planting a kiss on the top of her head. While the kiss and his presence alone could make her feel warm inside, she still couldn't tear her eyes from the road that lead up to her old house.

"Rose and I'll drive up in the U-Haul." Emmett said, already heading towards the truck with his mate, his skin glittering in the sunlight while Rose was smart enough to have a stylish blue hat on her head.

"Fine. Try to be discrete, won't you?" Esme warned him with one perfect eyebrow raised expectantly. The large vampire scoffed, as if being discrete was in his nature, before getting into the large white and orange truck, pulling back out of their driveway and onto the black road. The sound of rap music came from the car. Apparently there were radios in rent-a-van's.

"They're so _discrete_." She said, mildly amused as she tucked her hands in her coat pockets.

"They won't be seen." Alice assured before ducking into Edward's Volvo. With a slight push from the blonde behind her, she was also brought along in the backseat of the mind reader's car. Esme and Carlisle were going to be taking one of the few van's that they owned. Of course, it was spotless and shone with a silver sheen, but nevertheless, it was a soccer-mom mobile.

The drive up to it was full of foreboding. But powering through the feeling by thinking of all her Dad's things in the attic and the hidden stash of Halloween candy in her desk drawer were enough to get her through the door. It looked exactly the same, only with a very very thin layer of dust on everything and an assortment of gnats over the bowl of fruit that was always left on the kitchen table. No doubt the food in the fridge was just as spoiled.

"Furniture can go." Erin spoke finally, after several minutes just looking in and walking through the first level of the house, gesturing over to the sleek couches and crystal coffee table along with the large flat screen on the wall in front of it. "Really just get rid of everything but the things in the attic and the stuff in my bedroom." She said, not wanting to know the contents of her Mother's bedroom or office. Everything inside of them might as well be burned down to fucking ashes.

"Swell." Edward said, walking over to her and bumping her shoulder lightly with his, looking concerned for his littlest sister and where her thoughts were headed. He'd never been attached to another person, even with their name calling and sarcasm soaked quips with each other. Even with Carlisle, the man who sired him, the bond wasn't as tight as it was with the him and Erin. "I can clear out Joan's rooms. Start a bonfire in the backyard." He said lightly, putting his hands in his pants pockets and looking up at the light fixtures in the room. Joan, apparently, had a fondness for crystal lamps.

Erin grinned up at him, appreciative that he was trying to make it easier for her. "You do that. We might even still have marshmallows in here." She said, picking up a black vase full of dead flowers from the mantle. She then walked over to the window, unlatching it and pushing the glass open before tossing the vase outside. The sound of it shattering was almost as satisfying as popping bubble wrap or the rushing feeling of an orgasm.

Carlisle in particular didn't at all look that pleased by her destruction, but he didn't say anything. He placed his hand on her back before lifting up the couch and taking it outside to the truck.

Alice took to Joan's bedroom, and Jasper and Erin headed up to the attic to bring down all the boxes and old things from her past.

When they got up through the ladder in the ceiling, the first thing was that the place was filled with cobwebs and dust. Another was that there were dozens of boxes and huge Christmas tubber-ware boxes that were likely filled with old junk. Every photo album, every old soccer trophy, old toy, holiday decoration and not to mention the whole part of the attic where there was purely just Military memorabilia from when her Father still sent her trinkets when overseas, along with what looked like to be a whole blocks worth of clocks were there. It was like a hoarder had been secretly living in her attic for seven years.

"Great." She coughed, putting her sleeve over her nose so she wouldn't inhale the closest spider in the room.

"Is everything you own in this attic?" Jasper asked, clearly making fun of her, as there was his heart-stopping handsome grin on his face. Of course, the first time they get to be alone together in a month and a half, and it's while they're in a spider-infested attic. Her need for a satisfying round of sex aside, she really had missed his boyish-ness that rarely came out when they were surrounded by his family.

Erin stepped on his foot, making him laugh while she walked forward and brushed off the dust off of some of the cardboard boxes, looking for her things and photographs. There were a few things labeled 'Erin's Toys' and 'Erin's Clothes' written in her father's script with black sharpie, which she grabbed and pushed towards the hole in the ground that lead back down to the floor.

Another stack of things were labeled 'Books', 'Pictures' and 'Baseball Cards', which added to the pile. Behind her, Jasper was sorting through the boxes that were very obviously filled with Joan's things, like old medical equipment and antiques that were from Chiasa and Alfred both.

The decorations were added to the pile, though most likely they would all end up sent to the Goodwill.

"Erin." Jasper spoke, his voice hesitant.

"What?" She asked before turning to find that he was holding her Mother's wedding dress. White and extravagant, the dress was covered in crystal beading and lace. And she bet dollars to donuts that the traditional wedding kimono was in the same box that he found the dress in. Tightening up the muscles in her abdomen, Erin almost glared at the gown that shouldn't have been white at all if it belonged to Joan. That dress represented the false woman who ruined her life. So it could burn along with all the stupid trinkets that she liked so much.

"Toss 'em out." She said hatefully, batting a cobweb out of her way as she slid down and out of the attic, landing on her feet in the hallway below.

* * *

Vampires made to be excellent movers.

The house was completely empty except for the lightbulbs and kitchen appliances and such. Everything else was spotless and empty.

They took the boxes from the attic into the empty living room, prepared to dig and rummage around through them for anymore things that were to go to charities and to let Erin decide what she wanted to keep.

Rosalie was the one who picked up the Photo Albums and began to idly flip through them. Most of them were from the attic, but one was a binder full of plain disposable-camera pictures that had been in the very back of Erin's closet, behind the boxes of unopened luxuries. Pictures of her father, of Joan swollen and pregnant with her, her hair shorter then and looking more human somehow. Then, a tiny pink baby in her arms and the smile on Joan's face gone.

"You were cute." Rose said, a taunt clear in her voice as she looked over the much younger version of her new sister in her Father, Jesse's, arms. He looked young and handsome in the pictures, not any older than 22 with a little baby with tuffs of black hair on her head in his arms.

Erin scoffed and held her hand out. "Quit that. Don't pull out the baby picture card when I can't return the favor."

The blonde rolled her eyes and handed over the box of pictures, letting Erin tape up the box and proceed to sit on top of it.

"So, why all the goddamn clocks, anyway?" Emmett asked, holding up a cuckoo clock in each large hand. She shrugged in response, not really knowing, but having the feeling that Joan was some kind of freak beyond the assumed amount.

"No idea. Toss em in the charity pile." Erin said, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach in favor of looking through all her old toys, consisting of Barbies with all their hair cut off and their clothing missing (which was why their bodies were colored in with markers), stuffed animals whose fur was patchy and likely trimmed with scissors, and then tons and tons of VCR tapes and Sailor Moon stickers. Hell, there was even an old, empty bottle of Surge in the box, which she opened and inhaled the scent of. That unmistakable (likely sticky) scent was still there. _God dammit, going through these boxes is like taking a step back into the 90s._

"Tell me about it." Edward sighed, finding dozens of containers of superfine glitter piled at the bottom of the box he was working through. He brushed his hands off back into the box, trying to get the glitter off his fingers.

"Who is this?" Alice asked suddenly, holding onto a picture that she thought was in the box that she was sitting on top of. Erin leaned over to look at the picture itself and discovered it was one that was taken when she and Joan had gone on vacation in Reno last summer, where the then sixteen year-old rocker had a little meaningless fling of her own, with a 19 year-old woman named Cassie. She wasn't facing the camera at all, but her light-brown arm was very obviously around her freckled shoulders in a way that was clearly more intimate than just two friends together. She had been leading her towards the closest Chinatown at the time, obvious by the lanterns that hung on the right side of the picture.

Erin blinked out of the memory, taking the picture from Alice so she could put it away in the binder of photos that she had stashed in her bedroom before.

"Friend of mine. I don't even remember taking this film to get developed." _Though the rest could be in the handful of disposable cameras that were in the box Emmett was going through,_ she thought.

"Oh." The short-haired girl said, her voice empty of it's usual cheer and was instead disappointed, letting her hands float to her lap before recovering. "If everything's all sorted out, we should go before someone drives by. I'll take the truck this time." Alice said kindly, getting up and carrying four, large boxes that Erin had already gone through and wanted to keep for herself out the door. She watched the other girl go, knowing, despite not being all that buddy-buddy with her, that her behavior was certainly out of her usual sugar-plum faerie way.

"Could we keep these photographs?" Esme suddenly asked, holding several pictures. They were each in their own frame, and inside of them were pictures of Erin. A few of them were of her playing soccer, her then long beautiful dark brown hair flowing in a high ponytail and wearing a soccer uniform and cleats. There were several others that were school photos, and one other that was professionally done, with Erin as a toddler with her little arms in a vice grip around the neck of a stuffed rabbit.

She shrugged. "Go ahead." She could already picture Esme hanging them up around the house and Carlisle keeping them on his desk at work along with the pictures of the rest of them.

"Hey baby girl, if you're up to it." Jasper said to her, his voice like silk as he offered her his hand. Taking it, she let the texture of his palm and fingers distract her from Alice's unusual actions.

He took the box that she was sitting on, putting it under his arm while his other wrapped around her shoulders, which she loved. Without another look to the house that she had never considered her home, she left and would never return, at least that's what she expected.

* * *

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	30. Chapter 30

**Mature Content warning! So much Mature Content!**

* * *

"You're telling her. Tonight." Alice said to him from his doorway. Her arms were crossed and she felt angry with him. She wanted so badly, _so badly_ to get along with her new sister. And the longer Jasper kept the information from her, the less likely that she would be at least friends with Erin. She was a social butterfly being forced into a jar, forced to keep her bright and exciting personality from the world that she so desperately wanted to interact with.

Alice, every year, with every new trend, new movie or television show, she kept up with everything that was brought up. It was a connection to the people that she found so fascinating, and Erin was a facet of that world that she wanted to be apart of. She wanted to learn everything and be everything. And while she had freedom to travel, to Milan and Paris and all of those fabulous places that were made for big personalities like hers, she felt so alone in the middle of them, with no one at her side. But now she knew she had a mate out there, a woman with caramel skin and beautiful brown eyes. And she had something to do with Jasper's sass-mouthing mate. And this fueled her, fueled her desire to get along with the other girl who was just so different from herself.

If Erin was somehow the key to her happiness, then she'd do anything and everything in her power...

"You two haven't had the awkward exes' discussion yet, might as well let it come up now. Think of it as a do-over. The last time you told her was cheap." Edward said, trying to keep out of his sisters thoughts, but still hearing them all the same. Alice's thoughts had become more and more uneasy lately, and it was worrying him. "In fact I think that there are more headboard notches in Erin's bed than there are in yours."

Jasper let out a deep growl at that, looking at his brother with a warning in his dark eyes. He did not like that his mate had been with other people. In fact, he despised the idea of anyone else being underneath or on top of her but himself. He didn't know that it was even possible for her to be with anyone but himself. When he had been with Maria, Alice and the few nameless girls that he was involved with in between, Erin hadn't even been born yet. Or was even a twinkle in her fathers eye for that matter.

"Shut up." He ordered him before continuing to pick apart orange rose petals.

Edward rolled his eyes, leaning his head against his piano. "You can't just ignore it. Those other people, they helped make her the way she is now. I bet one of them even taught her the things that you find irresistible about her, as gross as that is. You should be thanking them."

"I'll thank them when they're dead."

Alice huffed and packed away spare sets of clothing for the two of them in a large backpack. "Still, you're going to tell her. Because if you don't, you can sure as hell bet that **I** will." She declared, zipping up the bag quickly before handing it to him. It was a threat. He was being forced to come clean a _second time._

"I never said I wouldn't." He snapped back, making Alice look at him a bit hatefully, in a way she never had before.

"Then hurry up." She returned before getting up and leaving the room and house all together. She'd be in Reno by 11 with her calculations.

* * *

Erin had smiled smartly and rolled her eyes at the picnic basket in the back of his car. He decided to take his smooth black Chevelle rather than her shiny blue false-Chevy (which he still found himself amused over, the original label of _Ford_ in silver letters hand been carved off and replaced with _Chevy_ , done by her Father when he built it, as he had something against Ford's). Jasper started to drive them out of Forks, into the next town over in Beaver. The streets were full of cars, tons of people trying to get out of the area and up towards Port Angeles for their own day of romance. Likely older couples who were desperately trying to keep their marriages for their kids or dogs or simply so they don't have to get divorced.

 _"Burn out the day. Burn out the night. I can't see a reason to put up a fight."_ The tape he had put in sang. Blue Oyster Cult, one of the bands that he knew that Erin liked just as much as he did. And Jasper couldn't help but puff up his chest with pride as he felt his mate enjoying the long drive up through the highway. Edward had told him that she would get bored on the way, even with the high speed they were driving, but clearly his brother didn't know his mate as well as he did!

 _"I'm living for givin' the Devil his due. And I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for you." "I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for you."_

"So what's the plan, Mr. Hale?" She asked lowly, in a way that sent pangs of arousal straight through him like arrows. He _missed_ the way she would look at him with hunger in her eyes, like she was now. He felt like a meal. God, he wanted to pull over and forgo his romantic plan. She'd be just as amused and satisfied if they spent Valentine's Day on the side of the highway, he bet.

"It's a surprise." He responded, his voice a little higher than expected. But it did serve to humor his mate a bit, as the predatory look in her perfect eyes was now lessened. It almost disappointed him, at least until she reached over and kissed what used to be his pulse point. Jasper tightened his grip on the steering wheel to keep from slamming on the breaks and pulling her on his lap. The burning in his throat was starting to actually bother him, it was coupling up with the heat that she was creating inside him.

"A surprise huh?" Erin inquired before settling back onto her seat.

 _"I'm not the one to tell you what's wrong and what's right. I've seen suns that were freezing and lives that were through." "But I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for you."_

When they arrived to his prepared spot, the cassette tape he inserted was almost over and done with, and appropriately so.

"A drive in movie?" She asked as they pulled into the empty lot, with a large projection screen ahead of them. "I didn't know they even had these in business anymore."

"They don't." Jasper replied matter-of-factly, a smile on his face, pulling the break and leaning back in his leather seat. "Not in Washington."

Erin raised a brow at him, impressed at the implication that he set this all up just for Valentine's Day, before folding her leg underneath herself, her seat belt unlatched from herself.

"Have you been a busy bee, boy?" She drawled, leaning back and pushing her hands over her thighs, enjoying the way he gulped with nervous attraction as his eyes were now planted on her bare thigh. His eyes flickered back up to her before smoothing his hand over her hair with a cool, scarred hand, his large thumb rubbing over her cheek gently.

"Your boy _has_ been busy. But wait, he's not done." Jasper replied smoothly, his eyes sparkling with excitement, eager to be alone with her after so long being cramped up in the house with so many other people. Reluctantly, he got out of the car, fetching the basket from the back seat and setting the large blanket he had over the long front of his Chevelle. Erin got out of the car once the blanket covered the window, a smile on her face, biting her bottom lip with her slight overbite.

Her laugh, that goofy and murmur of a chortle greeted his hearing when he sprinkled the rose petals on top of the warm blanket. He couldn't help but snicker along with her, dropping the petals more dramatically now, from high above before just dumping the entire basket on top, leaving a high pile in the middle of the wool blanket.

"What if it rains?" Erin asked, watching as her boy settled the much larger picnic basket on top of the car, sitting down on the orange rose petals. _Rose petals huh?_ She thought, picking up a handful of the petals, calling him a sap affectionately in her head. Her beautiful boy, trying to get her to enjoy a holiday. Well, if anyone had a chance in hell to get that to happen, it was him.

Jasper leaned his shoulders in, patting the spot next to him. "Come on, sweet girl." He said, blonde brows raised expectantly, handsome smile on his face. "Alice triple checked. There will be no rain. I promise."

"Mmhmm." The small girl hummed, crawling up on top of the hood of his Chevelle, laying on the rose petals. "What's everyone else doing anyway? I couldn't find Rose or Esme this morning." Erin said, stretching herself out to get rid of the kinks in her back from the long drive over there. That morning, she needed help with her mess of hair, and without being able to find the two, she was forced to hide her hair in a half-hearted bun. She couldn't put a name on why she didn't want to seek out Alice. But now, more than ever, she didn't want to be around the other girl. The two of them maybe were just never meant to become friends. They were too different from each other.

"Well Emmett and Rose are off in some deserted area of Canada. Probably going to destroy a large forest with their date." Jasper told her, his finger trailing down from her jawline down her throat and to the front of her shirt, where his finger tucked into it, pulling on it lightly as if he was considering ripping it right down the middle. "And Carlisle and Esme should be in Mexico by now." A small tear was being created in the front of her shirt and it was getting larger and larger with each pull of his hand. But his girl didn't protest, in fact the look in her eyes was the equivalent of the terrible smirk that would spread across her face sometimes. And it made him all the more eager.

"And Ed and Alice?" She inquired lightly, her shirt now hanging open and revealing her bare chest underneath.

"Gone." He growled, eagerly leaning down and licking along the side of her neck, his free hands pushing her shirt off her shoulders. Her hands raked through his curls, her nails scraping against his skull and making a whine leave his throat. She was torturing him on purpose now.

"Good." Erin said, feeling goosebumps spread over her skin from the chilly air. Jasper seemed to enjoy this though, because he swept down and pushed her against the car, taking one of her nipples in his mouth and massaging her other between gentle fingers. A gasp came from her, since his mouth was only slightly warmer from the air around her. Her hands moved up to hold his head to her, his locks brushing against her skin and tickling her sensitive skin. The addition of pressure from his knee between her legs almost surprised her, she was so focused on the feeling of his sharp teeth grazing along her pink nipple.

"Ah!" She tightened her grasp in his hair when he suddenly bit down, not hard enough to tear her skin, but enough to make her jump. The blonde chuckled at his mate's response, running his hand over her bare side, up and down comfortingly.

"Scared you, huh darlin'?" He asked, a cocky smile on his face and confidence all over his face. In fact, he looked damn proud. Erin squirmed against his thigh, the friction arousing her.

"Doesn't it bother you?" She asked, shutting her eyes and tilting her head back, her mouth falling open in pleasure when she felt him rubbing his thigh harder against her crotch.

"Your blood? I hardly notice it anymore. Then again, I wouldn't recommend juggling the kitchen knives either." Jasper said to her as he removed his coat and draped it around her. Erin then reached up, away from the warmth to grab him by the front of his shirt, tearing it open and making the buttons fly off in every which way direction.

"Off. _Now_." She ordered, almost sending him to his knees with pleasure as he eagerly took to her order. It was gone, behind her and leaving him bare-chested.

Looking immensely pleased, she let her hazel eyes wander over his chest. Over the silver-white scars over his muscled arms and the slightly dark trail of blonde hair from his belly button. Then, her hands replaced her eyes, moving up over his forearms and then up to his taut biceps. Erin's eyes flickered to his, which looked so damn eager and submissive. She grasped his shoulders, pulling him down until their noses brushed against each other.

"Will you kiss me Jasper?" She asked, purposely tentative, bumping the delicate curve of her nose against his cheek. He rose up, his hands pressing down on either side of her, pressing his weight down on her so she couldn't get up and tease him even more than she already had.

"I'll kiss you for days if you asked me to." He assured her before grasping at the front of her jeans, pressing his lips against hers, trying to remind himself to be gentle with his tiny mate. She definitely didn't have the same problem, as she was running her nails down his back to his pants, shoving them down to his thighs and even further with the heels of her feet.

The Major, who had been content to watch and feel the moment through Jasper's experience, was now watching intently from inside as he pulled off Erin's pants and tossed them over the roof of the Chevelle. And thank god, she was wearing underwear. Not that they were much better, being black and clinging to the curves of her hips. He pushed himself down, pressing his lips firmly against her stomach and then lower before he paused at the rim of her panties.

Jasper looked up at her, influenced by the Major, and tutted at her. "Bad girl, wet for me when I haven't even touched you yet." He clicked his tongue, like she so often did, before returning back down to tug at the elastic band with a single finger. She wriggled underneath his much larger body, a smile on her face as he ripped his way through the fabric just as easily as he had to her shirt.

"Maybe I should be punished." She returned lightly, not expecting how much she'd like the idea of that. Of him tying her wrists up and torturing her with almost orgasms.

His eyes went dark, and his smile looked almost _evil_. "Maybe you should be."

Excited, her nerves actually began to make her jittery, her face getting warm with the way her thoughts were headed.

"But later." Jasper said, leaning in and kissing her face, everywhere from her forehead, then her cheeks, her nose, and finally her smiling lips, sweetly. "I want to show you how much I love you before we have to go back."

Erin tutted, her hand drawing up and stroking over his pale cheek, looking every bit a love-induced little girl. "How much more can you show me?" She asked, pulling him in close between her legs, holding him close to her. He pushed back the locks of her hair that had come out of it's incredibly messy up-do, brushing against the soft freckled skin of her face, sending delightful tingles in it's wake.

"So much more, sweetheart." He promised her before leaving a sweet kiss against the brown freckles (15 of them, the last he had counted) that rested on top of her right shoulder. "We are going to have a good time our next vacation." The blonde swore, making Erin smirk as she pushed his hair back, running her fingers through his curly locks affectionately.

"Ooh spring break, that's right." She said, letting him wrap the thick blanket around her shoulders as he settled his form fitting Calvin Klein covered hips against hers. Jasper was maintaining that their first time together to not be done in or around a car. _At least_ in a bed, where the temperature would be warm enough that the coolness from his skin wouldn't be too much inside of her.

Erin breathed out deeply through her mouth, feeling his hard member through the thin fabric pressing against her. "Bet the birds around here are getting a damn good show." She snickered, grinding back against him as he moved. His lips pressed against hers, shutting her up quickly with the intensity of it. His tongue swiping against her lower lip, taunting her when she tried to bite him playfully.

"Faster." His mate pleaded, and he was more than happy to comply with her wishes, keeping the pressure as he moved quickly against her, enough to make her knees jerk and a moan to come from her pretty red lips.

It only then took a hike from himself to get her almost screaming, squirming fervently underneath him as he played with her. Erin called him a cheat in between her whimpers of pleasure, which he retaliated by reaching down and rubbing against her bright pink clit with his thumb, sending spasms through her lithe little body. Every sound she made went straight to his member which was throbbing against her with need. But a lady always finished first, so he was intently focusing on her flushed folds that might as well have his name tattooed there. The Major was very clear and adamant, that belonged to him, to _them only._ No fling of her past could ever measure up to how well they could make her scream.

"Christ, Jasper please!" She whined, feeling his gift wash over her like hot lava, making her skin burn and tingle with desire.

"Do you wanna come, pretty girl?" He crooned gentlemanly, finally hooking his fingers inside of her and rubbing against the thick tissue he knew was her G-spot. She didn't answer, just raised up her hips, her face flushed just as beautifully as her vagina was, just for him.

"I need a yes or no." Jasper said then, slowing his fingers down, making her whine pitifully.

"Yes! Fuck, just please already!" She complained. He almost considered stopping, to hear to cry out his name a few times more in protest of his pause, but the desire to watch her come undone from just his two fingers alone was enough to get him to send her over the edge.

Just watching her was euphoric. But he also felt the feeling that shot through her. Jasper hadn't been actively trying, but his mate's orgasm flushed over him all the same, in a way that was so much more intense than his own had ever been. It felt like pleasure had rammed against him like a goddamn wrecking ball, leaving a wonderful tingling over his flesh when it's hot sensation faded. He placed his mouth over her breast, kissing her chest and just over her heart where it was beating like a humming birds wings.

"Did you feel that too?" She asked tiredly, resting her head back on his bundled up shirt that was behind her. He nodded against her chest, still reveling in the feelings alone that accompanied it. He'd never felt someone else's orgasm before, only the feelings of euphoria and the love that caused the pleasure.

Erin practically giggled before wrapping her arms around his head and shoulders, holding him to her breasts like he were a child. "We've gotta do that again sometime."

* * *

It was after their sexual appetites were satisfied that they re-dressed, both of them looking thoroughly disheveled and Jasper in particular looking like he had seen the light of heaven or something along those lines, as he was so in awe of the girl beside him, who had taken his coat and the big wool blanket for her own. He had his arm rested around her shoulders, letting her cuddle close into his side without having to speak up about it. The smell of her was soothing, even with the smoke and the lingering mint gum scent being drenched with the smell of sex.

The Major actually let out a pleased growl, burying his nose in her hair, listening to her heartbeat and the little chortle that she gave at the growl.

The movie he had arranged to show her was a favorite of his, though it did take some time for him to become as fond of it as he was. It took at least 24 years after it's release, in fact. Gone with the Wind.

Erin told him that she's never seen the film before, in her satisfied, after-sex voice that he found rather adorable and so unlike her usual self that he felt like taking a picture of her and the sweet expression on her face. The Major leaned down and kissed her temple and then down to her cheek, reveling in the happiness she was feeling and not at all feeling guilty for making it linger on a bit longer as the beginning of the movie showed on the large screen ahead of them.

"I also have no idea what this movie is about." She mumbled contentedly, holding onto the warm container filled with ginger beer with both hands.

The Major pushed a few locks of her loose hair behind her ear, watching her possessively. "You'll find out. But then again, you'll have plenty of opportunities to watch this again."

Erin rested her head against his chest, squinting her eyes as she tried to focus on the blurry blurry screen. It was so far away from her, all it was were shapes and slight movements to her. She could only vaguely tell who was who, especially since this particular copy of the movie was in black and white. She frowned, blinking her eyes so they would refocus. Sooner or later, she'd have to get an eye exam from Carlisle. It was really starting to annoy her lately. Then, she looked up at him, looking at his handsome features and his dark eyes. For a second, she tried to see him as a human, with tanned skin and blue eyes. Freckles and hot blood warming his body.

The blonde looked down at her, a smirk on his face. "What?" He asked lightly, grasping her chin gently so he could press a warm kiss against her lips.

"I'm trying to imagine what you looked like two hundred years ago." Erin returned, still looking over his features.

"Well technically, I wasn't even born yet two hundred years ago." He taunted her. She scoffed, prodding his side. "You know what I mean. You as a human, in a uniform. On a dumb horse, like in there." She gestured towards the screen.

The Major kissed her again. "That was a long time ago. I was a much more naive man then."

She shrugged, accepting that for now. Jasper took back the reins, and the other allowed it for then, sitting in his head with some contentment.

"So, is this the hands down best Valentine's Day?" He asked, resting his head on top of hers, focusing intently on her breathing patterns.

Erin scoffed, amused as she stretched out her limbs before settling back against him. "I guess. I mean the last Valentine's Day I had when I was actually with someone, the guy scared the crap out of me. Do not give jewelry to girl's you've only been with for like a week. It's bad fucking mojo." She remembered the large, dark skinned boy looking at her earnestly with a black ring box in hand. She almost had a panic attack that day, and she actually felt kind of bad for refusing the gift after he left. Wasn't that bad of a guy, really.

"That sounds awful." He said, sounding interested and amused now. If all the others she had been with were people who she eventually spurned and denied, then he really wanted to know. It made sense now, the bond didn't allow her to connect romantically to them, or even be intimate in the ways that matter. She never loved any of them.

"Tell me another." Jasper said, pushing against her shoulder gently, a pleased smile spreading across his lips, eager now.

Erin groaned, tilting her head back. "Why does it matter?" She complained, pushing her hand through her hair, the Edward's ring on her pointer finger getting a bit caught in her locks.

"Because I want to know about all the people who wanted you like I do. Only they failed where I have obviously succeeded." He said seductively, his hand sliding up the bare skin of her thigh, sliding under her skirt. Suddenly he wanted her again, he wanted to bury his face between her legs and get her screaming loud for him. Because she was his, all his. There was never any doubt.

"Most of the people I've been with were flings and one night stands. The only person who came close to mattering was older than me. Old enough to make it illegal." She mumbled, feeling his fingers slide between her legs and into her new silky light pink panties, rubbing circles around her entrance tauntingly. "That's why I lied to her most of the time." Erin continued, letting her eyes flutter shut as his long digits slipped inside, her tight walls clamping down against his cool fingers that were sending her higher.

"Old as me?" He hummed.

She let out a breath that was partially a laugh, her hand moving up and grasping his shoulder tightly. "No way. She was twenty while I was sixteen. I never told her the truth cause she was the type to freak out that she 'broke the law' by being with me." The burning pleasure between her legs was growing as he rubbed her wet walls and G-spot, getting her off at a much more leisurely pace than before.

"Was she good to you?" He asked, kissing her pouting lips sweetly, adoring their taste. Erin hummed a yes, opening her legs up a bit wider for him.

"Your turn, I wanna know who you fucked last before me." She ordered, reaching over for his fly.

"Actually it was Alice." He said, rubbing his calloused thumb against her clit, sending her forcefully towards an orgasm right as she took him out of his jeans. Erin braced herself against his legs, resting her head against his tight abdomen as the pleasure almost overwhelmed her, the wetness staining her pretty pink panties.

"Really?" She asked as she stroked along him with the same leisurely pace he gave her. "What was that like? I always thought Alice would be into something dirty, no one can look the way she does and not have a bull whip in the closet." Erin was very much interested in taking him in her mouth now, looking at him with a predatory gleam in her hazel eyes.

"I c-can't rememba'." Jasper stuttered honestly, that southern twang coming out full throttle in his arousal, grasping the leather seats tightly, trying not to tear it, but finding it inevitable as she swiped her tongue along the pink tip of his member. "It was a long time ago, before you were b-BORN!" He shouted, his muscles jerking when she took him into her warm mouth, the feeling and the sensations sending him to new heights. It's been the longest time since anyone's done this for him...

He choked out a moan, ripping the seats to keep from grasping onto the back of her head and risk hurting her when she was giving him something so goddamn wonderful. Erin chuckled, actually _chuckled_ at his response as she controlled him with every contraction of her throat. He was almost sobbing out in satisfaction, sputtering encouragements and compliments and how he loved her again and again, desperately. She pulled away from him, making her boy whine in resistance to her pause.

"You're so loud and eager, you're so damn cute and perfect Jazzy." She complimented him warmly, pumping him over with her hand, the slickness from her saliva enough to lubricate him. He was moaning again, his head full of blonde curls falling back, his mouth open and spewing his thanks. Erin's free hand moved underneath his t-shirt, feeling his firm muscles spasming underneath her touch with each move of her hand.

"I love you." Erin told him, receiving a gasp of adoration in return just before he came, spurting out on the leather seats. That, she didn't expect. It wasn't like vampires had sperm or eggs anymore since the change, right? For now, she ignored it, planning on inquiring to Carlisle when he got back with Esme from their own romantic interlude (gross).

"I love you, I love you so much Erin." Jasper said, taking her in his arms, kissing her all over happily. If he could, he might have been crying out in joy. She told him she loved him, and not only that he could feel her love cloud over him like a warm cotton blanket, making his dead heart feel as if it began to beat again, soaring.

Erin ducked her head into the crook of his neck, reverting out of her temporary dominant stance. "What of it, loser?"

* * *

 **This amount of words is what I'm going for for when I get into the books. I want them this long at least! Somehow I think I'll know I'll fail, but I sure am going to fucking try!**

 **Yes, this chapter's so porn filled, but it's for Valentine's Day, so that's acceptable. Next, I'll be right into March when Bella comes in with her stupid buck-teeth.**

 **R &R**


	31. Chapter 31

**Book 1: Twilight**

 **March 2nd 2005**

 **Monday**

 _ **The New Girl**_

* * *

The day started like any other. It was ordinary and uneventful.

Erin dressed, ate the breakfast that Esme made for her at the kitchen's stone island while watching the morning cartoons that were playing. Foghorn Leghorn, shooing away the little chicken hawk that was so intent on killing the southern rooster. Her teeth were brushed, flossed through before they all left for school. She and Jasper rode with Edward that day into their usual parking places at the front of the school. Erin had fought with the ginger over control of the radio the entire way there, bantering and arguing as they always did. It ended with neither of them getting to listen to what they wanted, in stalemate.

"Guess what's new." He baited Erin, a taunting grin on his face. She lit her zippo up, lighting her cigarette before raising a dark brow at him.

"You got a perm." She replied, smoke coming out of her mouth.

"Chief's daughter is here." Jasper interrupted his brother, making him frown. He wrapped his arm around his girl's delicate shoulders, pulling her into his side, fitting her there perfectly. The short girl rolled her eyes and flicked the ash to the side of her onto the black road.

"That.. wasn't what I was going to say." Edward muttered bitterly at being interrupted, stuffing his hands into his grey jacket's pockets.

"Yay. So what's the story about her so far?" Erin asked, not really caring about the new addition to the school, but at least making an effort to pretend. Chief Swan wasn't a bad guy, in fact she kinda liked the man. He insured that she could stay in Forks with the Cullen's rather than get shipped off to her closest living relatives. So the least she could do was not be horrible to his daughter. She couldn't insure that she'd be kind to the girl of course. An attempt would be made, in honor of the police officer's kindness.

"Nothing much. She'll likely be boring, like the rest of the humans here." Edward said, grabbing his backpack from the Volvo and swinging it over his shoulder.

"Aww. Too bad no one's as interesting as a 100 year-old weirdo who tucks his shirts into his underwear." Erin said in a baby voice, making Emmett snort from behind her.

Alice gaped at her brother. "You don't actually do that, right?" She said, looking actually a bit frightened, placing a small, pampered hand over her chest. Edward rolled his eyes, walking off into the school, but the bite-sized vampire rushed after him, repeating her question frantically.

Rosalie took Erin by her baggy sleeve from her twin to get to their first period class, which was a merger of the Junior and Senior class for Economics.

"Emmett's still upset that Jazz kicked his ass last night, isn't he?" She asked, a cocky smile on her face as she strolled along the hallway towards their classroom. Erin and Rose were often put into a role similar to soccer Mom's on opposing teams. Whenever Emmett beat Jasper at anything, whether it be a harmless brawl, video games or a race, the statuesque blonde would gloat in the smaller girls face. All in good fun of course, so it was only fair for Erin to return the favor. Last night, the two brothers had gotten into a friendly fight, where Jasper ended up on top, literally, with the much larger Emmett in the dirt of the forest, alarming the local banana slugs in the area.

"Not for long. He's going to call for another when we get home." Rose said plainly, her head held high as she opened the door for her little sister, closing it behind herself.

"Of course he is." She returned with a fond smile, taking her seat next to the blonde. The vampire ducked in slightly to whisper, a devious smile spreading across her perfectly rosy lips.

"Care to make a wager?" Rose asked, her voice low and daring, beautiful golden eyes glinting underneath the yellow light above them.

Erin took the hint and moved in to her, their faces close, a terrible smirk on her own lips. "Proceed." She said, just as others began to sit in the classroom, all of them avoiding the two members of the Cullen family instinctually. They were afraid of the Cullen's, and by extension, Erin as well.

"The end result of their next fight-" Rosalie started, before she was interrupted by the teacher who were watching them with an impatient look on her face. She sighed, settling into her seat, picking up her pencil and tapping the wood of the table with the eraser. "The loser gets a trim." The blonde said under her breath, only just loud enough for Erin to hear her. The smaller girl bumped her elbow against her sister's larger one. It was a deal.

* * *

During lunch, while Erin was pouring mountains and mountains of mustard and ketchup on the poor-quality school burger she had gotten at the lunch line that day, she noticed that Jasper was a little stiff. It had been two weeks since he last fed, and his eyes were pure black to reveal that. It was a good thing that every person in the school especially avoided him in particular, so his black eyes wouldn't be noticed with any suspicion. Dumb humans, not noticing things that were right in front of their faces. Would she have been the only one to point it out, if she wasn't destined for him?

The answer was yes. She would have been.

Alice was in her own world, liking thinking about her mate, like she so often did since her vision about the mysterious woman. Rosalie was looking into the window behind them, staring at her beautiful reflection.

"Got enough burger for your condiments?" Ed inquired, his face drawn up in disgust at the massive amount of bright yellow and red that was dropping to the cafeteria plate beneath it.

"I'm only 45% sure that this is actual meat." Erin deadpanned before taking a bite of it, only really tasting the condiments with a bit of iron and flat wheat bread. The ginger haired vampire watched her like he was watching something horribly vile occur to a dead animal of some kind. In response to the unattractive and rather stupid look on his face, she leaned forward in her seat quickly and without thinking, shoving the dripping burger in Edward's face, making him recoil and back up from the table, the table legs screeching against the floor.

"You're disgusting!" He accused with a bit of a whine in his voice, getting a strong whiff of tomato paste and mustard from the not-burger in his baby sister's hand.

"You're disgusting." She mimicked, her voice becoming high pitched and incredibly girly. Edward picked up a piece of ice out of his soda and threw it at her, it going over her shoulder.

"You missed!" Erin declared, leaning into Jasper's body in case he decided to throw another piece of ice at her. But, rather than throw something else at his small sister, he stopped, turning his head very slightly, enough that she managed to actually notice. He must have heard something, someone say or think his name.

"Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl all the fresh news about the Cullen clan." He then murmured to them quietly, but loud enough for Erin's human ears to catch.

She groaned, dropping her not-hamburger onto her plate, cleaning her hands with the cheap paper napkins. She's heard her fair share of gossip about them, especially since becoming apart of the clan herself. It was like a goddamn virus, spreading from mouth to mouth until everyone was revoltingly fucking infected.

"Is she at least makin' it good?" Jasper muttered, his hand on her lower back rubbing circles there, feeling her spark of annoyance.

"Unimaginative." Ed said. "Not even any horror, the only scandal being Erin. In fact she's just talking about you two now." He said, listening to Jessica's mental and physical voice. Then he cringed in disgust, hearing her mental assumptions about himself, Erin and Jasper. He wished he had the ability to puke, because that's all he wanted to do just then. She was his sister for Gods' sake!

"And the new girl? Does she buy it?" Emmett asked, amused by the look on his face.

Erin took this moment to look for a girl who resembled Charlie Swan. It wasn't hard to find a new face, especially with Jessica Bitch Stanley involved. To her surprise, Angela Weber was also sitting with them. The nice-ish girl who understood completely that she did not at all want to talk to her outside of school about why she was in her father's Group therapy. The girl approached her once, gave her condolences without that typical superficial vibe that she got from everyone else who showed up with a casserole in hand. Then, that was it.

Isabella Swan was next to her, plain, pale and looking like every other human in the world. She looked kind of like the Police Chief, with the same pallid skin-tone and dark brown hair. But that was all they had in common.

Edward shrugged in response to Emmett's question, going to knock Erin's straw with his own, beginning a lethargic plastic sword fight between the two of them until lunch ended.

"Shall we go?" Rose drawled, already moving to pick up her designer bag from underneath her chair.

Edward pulled her along to their shared Biology class through the crowded halls, Erin dragging her feet as she plopped down into the seat next to him, dropping her black backpack on top of the desk, the keys inside jiggling loudly and obnoxiously. Since her addition to his class, the amount of goofing off they got into quadrupled, their whispered sarcastic banter getting them a stern look from Mr. Banner occasionally. At this point, she was surprised he didn't separate the two of them already with all the distractions they created with each other. Then again, he could have just been glad that the Cullen's weren't as perfect as they seemed to be, and took this opportunity to try to get them in detention. Petty.

Erin bent over at the waist, putting her chin down on the dark desk as she dug through her bag, retrieving the homework from that previous Friday as Ed leaned back in his stool. Her homework, as always, had doodles in the corners and was covered in her messy handwriting. Her elbow was nudged, and she turned to look at him tiredly. That not-burger, coupled with her trouble sleeping that night was screwing her over. _What?_ She thought. Then, she turned her head to look where Mr. Banner was at the head of the class, turning on a heater to warm up the freezing science lab.

There was the Chief's brood, standing there with Weber. There were no seats with other partners available. Until a month ago, Edward was sitting alone at his desk, everyone else on the other side of the classroom. Then, when she was almost physically forced into the class, others who had been actively skipping the class to avoid them took the seats _far_ behind them. The only truly empty seat was directly behind them, which was where Swan would be forced to stay for the semester.

Erin, not really interested in the taller girl, went to cutting out long strips of lined paper and folding them over each other in the same pop-up pattern again and again.

But the sound of something breaking, _crumbling,_ did catch her attention. When she turned to look, Edward's eyes were black and he had just broken off pieces of the desk. And the look on his face scared the ever-living crap out of her.

His knuckles were see-through as Isabella Swan walked hurriedly down the isle, past Erin's seat and behind her. He was thinking of the best possible way to handle this. The Swan girl was going to die. Bella Swan was already living on borrowed time since the moment she walked into their classroom. There were witnesses, too many witnesses. And plus his sister, _his little sister_ , Erin, who was vulnerable, for the time being a human. He couldn't do this with her sitting next to him. She wouldn't see him break their families' heart.

The door. He'd take her and run. Towards her car, or towards Jasper. One of their siblings, leave them there and then return. It wouldn't take him any time at all, twenty seconds at the most, the parking lot wasn't at all far from the Science building. Lock the door behind him, barricade the door. No way out, the windows in the classroom were too high for them to reach.

Then, it was just collateral. If he killed the girl first, the others would have time to scream, drawing attention. So nineteen people. Mr. Banner first, he was the biggest threat. Break his neck. Then go down the rows, snapping necks as he went. Erin would have told Jasper or Rosalie about his odd behavior. He wouldn't have to destroy the evidence alone, the others would help him take care of it.

Erin smacked his shoulder with her black notebook, sending a wave of fresh air at him, clearing his plans from his head for the moment. "Hey, what the hell's wrong with you?" She whispered furiously, her mouth in a grimace as she looked at his pitch black eyes. She'd never seen his eyes that color before. They were always gold, or a darker shade if he was restricting himself in support for Jasper.

Ed didn't respond to her, he only pushed their desk up, scooting up and away from the desk behind them. She raised her dark brows before looking to the girl who was sitting directly behind her, the girl's brown hair making a shade around the left side of her face. But Erin could see her frightened and embarrassed expression, puzzling the small girl. It hadn't yet occurred to her that it was possible that Edward was considering the best way how to kill and drain Isabella Swan. Perhaps if it were anybody else.

Emmett or Jasper, who both had just gotten into the good place of resisting human blood well. Emmett for longer than Jasper had been used to it, though he had taken a few lives before when thirst became too much, while the blonde was still testing his limits, like he had been today.

The bell rang, and she could hear Isabella Swan breath out heavily from behind her. Edward grabbed both their bags, then took hold of her small bicep before dragging them both out of the classroom. His tight grip hurt, sending pain to where he was grabbing her as he walked much too quickly towards the parking lot and into the Volvo. Someone wouldn't have noticed, but it was still a tempt to fate.

They hid there. Or rather, Edward was hiding while Erin removed her coat before pulling up her short sleeve to look at the large, bright red mark that his hand left behind.

"I'm sorry." He said pitifully, breathing in the rain-drenched air, his hands braced on the side door and another on his steering wheel. He was almost shaking, the look on his face panicked and afraid. It was worrying enough, enough to stow Erin's jokes.

She reached over to him, putting a hand on the crook of his cold neck, her eyes scrutinizing his face. He didn't flinch away from her, but it was clear he was uncomfortable.

"What the hell happened in there?" Erin asked him seriously, keeping her grip firm. Edward shook his head, refusing to answer her. Then, he looked over at her black backpack.

"Will you smoke? It.. might help."

Dumbfounded, the small girl slumped against her side of the car, looking at him in shock. He was almost as bad as Carlisle was with her smoking, bringing up how smoking would kill her, rot her lungs, and the like. It annoyed her constantly, their tidbits and facts from medical school about the chemicals in the cigarettes now, compared to in the 30s. Not to mention how the smell of the tobacco would cling to every piece of fabric in sight, soak into it like gasoline that would never go away. And now he was asking her to smoke in his precious car?

 _Are you serious?_ She thought, her hand slipping away from his neck, to her lap. He nodded quickly, looking desperate as he held out his hand to her. He didn't have to tell her, clearly he wanted one, despite his sensitive taste and smell. She gave him one and lit it for him with the lighter from the car, the familiar smell and taste of tobacco now filling the air, merging with the strong scent of rain outside.

"Was it the Swan girl?" Erin asked, sticking her hand out of the window so ash wouldn't fall inside and burn the seats. He did the same, though he had torn off the brown piece of the stick and tossed it outside, breathing it in plain without the foam. Edward nodded, looking completely miserable as he hungrily inhaled the cigarette which coated his dead lungs and successfully managed to desecrate the taste and smell of Isabella Swan from his throat, leaving that cloying feeling in his mouth and body. It helped immensely. His mind was now free and clear to think without the idea of killing that girl stuck in the back of his thoughts.

"What almost happened?" She demanded, leaning into him, looking into his black eyes. They were drenched in guilt and shame, his shoulders pulled into himself as he tried to avoid his sister's order of truth.

"Edward!" Erin said loudly, beginning to panic herself as he kept from telling her whatever happened. He must have heard her fear, from her thoughts or the sound of her voice, because he lowered his head and put it against his steering wheel. He wasn't going to tell her, she realized, leaning against the front seat as he breathed in the thick smell of smoke. She nervously flicked the cigarette butt outside to fall in a puddle of water beyond the car window.

"I have to go. We're going to change out of that class, Erin." He said then, dropping the white bit outside before getting out of the car quickly. But she didn't follow him, and he didn't get her. Edward only rushed towards the office at a too swift pace, leaving her there as the smoke dissipated outside.

Erin wasn't left alone for very long. Before she knew it, the last hour of class had ended and the others were at the car, Alice in particular looking like she was just as panicked as she was. Jasper tried to calm both of them, but it did nothing when the huge wave of their brother's ravenous hunger hit him, ruining his good control since that morning. He gripped the seat tightly as he tried to control himself. Edward recoiled, starting the car.

Emmett demanded to know what happened to him, but instead of an actual answer, he zoomed out of the parking lot, leaving Rosalie to take the Jeep and follow behind them.

"You're leaving?" Alice said in a small voice, looking at her brother.

"Seems like it." He hissed, speeding off down the road towards the hills, rain water splashing to the sides as they went through it. Erin looked over at him, seeing his eyes in the rear-view mirror. They were just as black as when they were in the classroom, his big eyebrows shoved together in frustration. It was then that she decided that she despised Isabella Swan for whatever she had done to him. And now he was _leaving._ An uncomfortable fist tightened in her stomach at that thought, and her hand grasped Jasper's scarred one. Leaving, Alice said. Where?

"Oh." The pixie-faced girl said. And then again, once more.

"Stop it!" Edward groaned. Alice apologized, still in that tiny voice, one that Erin had never heard out of her before. She must be feeling the same as she was at the news that their brother would be leaving them. Her body tightened up, stiff as she kept her feelings locked inside. Jasper was focused on his own hunger for now, so she was free to keep her feelings inside.

"I'll miss you." Alice said. "Doesn't matter how long you'll be gone."

They were at the cross off where the turn into the Cullen home was, and where the road up further towards Erin's old home was. It was sinking further into her consciousness that she was likely not going to see Edward for some time, and that was beginning to send water into her eyes, blurring her vision. She blinked her eyes rapidly, hating the vulnerable feeling in her stomach just then. The red head heard her thoughts, she knew he did, but she only sat there, her hands tight in her clothes as he pulled to a stop, letting them all out at the edge of the woods. The others would go out to hunt while Erin walked home.

Edward would be gone by the time she got there.

* * *

 **R &R**


	32. Chapter 32

**Book 1: Twilight**

 **March 4th 2005**

 **Wednesday**

 _ **Static**_

* * *

Edward had only been gone for one full day, but Erin's composure might as well have been thrown completely out the window already. She buffered through that night and until the end of that school day that was full of her skipping class and taking out her irritation in Gym. Twice, teachers threatened to call Carlisle and Esme about her poor behavior. And twice, they were ignored by the stony-faced girl. Unfortunately, her behavior was noticed by her family, who looked on at her with worry and the hope that Edward would return quickly, but none more than Esme, who had sympathy for her newest daughter's hidden betrayal at her older brother leaving and abandoning them.

Then that next morning while she was still weary from her sleepless night, she found herself with _Alice_ of all people, sitting with her side by side as Buffy played on the wide screen. Erin wasn't in the mood to entertain the other girl, and she must have seen that before she sat down because Alice hadn't said a single word to her since appearing, only trained her golden eyes to the screen as Spike held his black jacket over his head to keep from burning.

Erin pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top of her green army pants, that were usually a personal insult towards the girl next to her, what with their excessive bagginess and the dozens of pockets that were adorned on them. But still, not a word from the pixie-faced girl. Damn, she missed Edward, who would be quick with a crass comment about her before she even begun to eat her breakfast. Now, it was like her morning was incomplete, which left her huffy and tired.

Jasper was trying to be considerate by distracting her with games and things to do, but really the only thing on his mind was that for the first time ever HE wasn't the biggest risk for exposing them. Instead, it was almost perfect-record Edward who actually had to leave the state to keep from draining a poor girl dry. He couldn't control the feeling of cockiness that he had, though with his mate being so downtrodden at the absence of their brother, he certainly never displayed his pride.

The blonde pressed a kiss to the top of Erin's braided head, smoothing away her sadness with his gift, the downside of Edward freaking out two days ago. His mate was without her closest confidant, and he was most certainly _not okay_ with that outcome. If his girl needed Ed around, then he was going to retrieve him for her.

"We have to go." Alice said demurely, very much unlike herself. She was effected by their brother's vacancy as well. The smaller of the two girls sighed and swept her hand over her face, grasping the long bangs she usually pushed over her head in her fist before heaving herself up from the couch to retrieve her backpack off the side of the stairs, tossing it over her shoulder, it jingling with the sound of her keys inside it.

"Erin. Hold on a moment." Carlisle called to her, ducking his head out from the kitchen. He gestured to her with his hand.

With a small feeling of dread, Erin obeyed and followed after him, stuffing her hands in her sweatshirt pockets. She leaned against the wall, looking down at the floor rather than at his pale face. She didn't even know what she was feeling guilty for, just that if Carlisle wanted her for something, it was likely that he was going to be sternly parental about her frequent skipping all day yesterday. _Looks like that stupid red-vine headed lady at the front desk ratted me out,_ Erin thought bitterly. That also bothered her for some reason. Her thoughts were free and all her own, with no one able to read them. The others welcomed that bit, that they no longer had to hide.

The doctor placed his hand on her shoulder, hunching down his shoulders a bit to get a bit more on her level, and to catch her averted eyes with his. "Erin. I know you're upset about what's been happening lately." He started calmly, still trying to catch her eye. The small girl only continued to look away, staring at his chest rather than his face. She didn't want to see the look of disappointment on Carlisle's face at her actions. It was bad enough without the feeling of guilt added on top of it.

"But you can't keep skipping school. You only attended two of your classes yesterday." He gently expressed to her, his voice lightly scolding.

Erin had nothing to say, no excuses that were usually on the tip of her tongue whenever she was brought in to be punished by anybody. Carlisle had that kind of effect on people.

"The coach at your school also called." He said, surprising her. That, she didn't expect. She almost always went to Gym, the so-called teacher actually enjoyed her presence there and appreciated her strong swings and misplaced enthusiasm. "He wants you on the soccer team."

At that, she rolled her eyes and slumped lower against the wall. "Of course he does, the soccer team here is a piece of crap." She mumbled negatively, thinking harshly on the weed infested field at Forks High School. No matter how much lawn mowing they did, it didn't change the patches of clovers and dandelions that sprouted all over the too-wet grass.

Carlisle chuckled like a deep church bell. "Nevertheless. I want you to at least _consider_ it. I would love to one day to come to a game of yours." He told her with a smile.

* * *

By lunch that school-day, Erin was slumped into Rosalie's arm as the unattractive school lunch sat on her tray. Any other time, she would have scarfed it down while barely tasting it, washing it over with large gulps of juice or soda. But it just rested there on the white round table. It might as well be growing mildew and then later be on the cover of a Goosebumps book. A larger frown made it's way on her mouth as she stared at the empty spot where Edward would sit. Bastard.

Alice didn't know when he'd be coming back, his future had become jumbled up now that Isabella Swan had arrived. She also saw the human dead some days. The others, undetermined.

"She's staring over here again." Rosalie hissed lowly, her gold eyes flickering towards the girl across the room who was looking their way.

Erin followed her older sister's gaze, landing on the plain, brown haired girl who caused her brother's absence. She sneered at her rudely, straightening up her spine and meeting her eyes with unmistakable hatred. The Swan girl flushed deeply before looking away. In return, the small girl smirked, turning back to the blonde woman sitting next to her. "Fixed it." She said flatly, leaning against the back of her chair.

"This is why I like you." Rose said before grasping hold of the tray in front of her and pushing it towards Erin, who only gave it a slight look before drinking out of her juice pouch.

Emmett raised his eyebrows. " _You're_ not hungry?" His rumbling voice said, full of surprise. As if he had room to talk.

She shrugged, pulling on the shiny elastic that held her braid together. "No, not really." Beside her, Jasper gave a rumble of displeasure, looking down at her with concern. "What? I'm not hungry, damn." She waved them off, prodding her food with a plastic fork, but never putting a bite in her mouth. After all, school food was worse than the food they served in prisons. But, the day that Erin didn't eat might as well be the day that the world ends. Resigned, he decided to call his brother that night. Ed could avoid the Swan girl by staying in the house, not by leaving for days on end. It was too much strain on the family, especially on Esme and Erin.

With a ring of the bell, Jasper left his mate with Alice, whose class was closest to Mr. Banner's room, while his own was in the Gym with Rosalie.

Erin slumped into her seat, dropping her noisy bag onto the floor. This was a classroom full of uninteresting people who lead uninteresting lives. And she missed not having to chatter under her breath to get her sarcastic comments to someone. In short, it was lonely.

"Bella, take a seat next to Erin, we'll be having a partner assignment today."

Hazel eyes flashed open, her entire body flexing tight. _No._ Her hand tightened around her pencil, considering the consequences of stabbing this girl in the side of the neck with it. Bella Swan took the seat next to her, unable to notice the danger in sitting there. She must have been some kind of stupid, Erin decided as she tapped her eraser against the table crossly.

Under her breath, Erin began to hum Heart of Glass to keep herself awake, taking the worksheet that Banner passed out and scribbling her name in the corner.

"Um..." Bella said, looking at the shorter girl beside her who looked very content on ignoring her and doing the sheet by herself. Which was fine with her, she wasn't a stranger to the questions on the paper. But her intense curiosity forced her to interrupt Erin's humming with a gentle prod to the girl's bangle covered arm, her eyes lingering on the ring on her pointer finger.

"What?" She turned her harsh look at her and exclaimed, planting her hand between them sharply. It was a clear barrier that should have had a sign that said 'Do not cross'.

The new girl looked alarmed at her harsh response and the swift tug away from her. "Sorry." Bella said hurriedly, pulling her arms away and getting the hint that the smaller girl didn't like to be touched. "It's just, that answer is incorrect." She told her, gesturing to the second question on the worksheet that was covered in Erin's scribble-like handwriting, somehow being able to read it.

"I'll live with it." Erin returned lowly with all the coolness and collectiveness of the chilled breeze outside. That seemed to fluster the pale girl, as her face turned such a bright and blotchy red color that she was expecting her to start hyperventilating right next to her. With an amused huff, she smoothly went back to her worksheet, finishing it lazily by herself, mistakes and all.

The Swan girl turned back to her own paper, trying to will the hot blush off of her face. The girl beside her could only be described as _cool_. Aloof yes, but pretty, probably able to walk on a flat surface without falling on her face like she always did. While Jessica's gossip a few days ago about the newest Cullen being with both the blonde one and Edward at the same time was likely false, she couldn't help but concede that it was much more possible now that she actually was interacting with her. She was definitely the kind of person who could juggle two guys at the same time, and who wouldn't want to be with her? Dressed in low-cut shirts with golden hoops in her ears. She was confident, but with overly-large coats and baggy pants that sat low on her hips, saying she didn't have to make an attempt to be attractive.

Hastily writing the correct answers openly on her paper, half hoping that Erin would cheat off her paper and copy the clearly written answers that she was putting down as Mr. Banner crossed through the aisles and observed them work. Mike was having some trouble in particular, and he kept looking in her direction.

Bella gave him a strained smile, while behind her, Erin bared her teeth in a cruel jeer, frightening the blonde boy. Pushing the paper away, she leaned back in her stool, returning to humming songs, this time Joan Jett, before the poor excuse of a college graduate could come their way. Now that Ed wasn't beside her, he might think that it would be open season for sending her to the office for shitty reasons. _Dickweed_ , she thought rudely.

"What happened to him?" The Swan girl mustered up in a light voice, making sure to keep her distance. For a split second, she had considered bringing up what Charlie mentioned about Erin's mother leaving, telling her she was sorry somehow and listening to her Dad about being friendly with this person, but she figured, smartly, that the hazel-eyed girl would lash out at her if she brought it up in any way. So instead, she went with Edward, who was missing after sending her hate-filled glares all during class that Monday. Bella had been considering what she would yell at him until she found that both of the Cullen's were missing the next day. And now, there was only Erin.

"Edward." She then clarified when Erin didn't answer.

"None of your goddamned business." Was her flat response.

"He just-he seemed really _off_. On Monday." Bella stumbled over her words at the aggravated look on her pretty face. Erin rolled her eyes and let out a tired breath, resting her chin in her hand as she turned to observe the stuttering girl who might as well have been a fucking house plant. "It's the gonorrhea, makes him antsy and pissed off." She deadpanned, sarcasm thick in her voice as she twirled her short yellow pencil between her fingers. Bella stiffened her shoulders, actually looking like she had an emotional expression on her face for a minute there before it faded away.

"Alright class, hand your papers to the person in front of you. You all can leave a bit early if you like." Mr. Banner said once he figured everyone was finished. This guy barely had a lesson plan. One assignment and they were dismissed?

Erin clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, handing the paper to the girl in front of her before snatching up her jingling black backpack and leaving out the door swiftly, so Swan couldn't scamper off after her.

She was out the door, and without thinking she headed towards Emmett's classroom, which was a room adjacent to the outside enough that the front door was touching the concrete steps down towards the football/soccer field. _Alice would have seen me decide to wait here_ , she thought, mildly guilty over the thought of Jasper waiting outside the front door of her Biology class for her. Alice would have told him to wait by the Jeep for them. As Erin waited for the bell to ring, and for Emmett to come out with his completely nonjudgmental-ness over her hatred for Bella Swan and her odd negative emotions over the girl asking after Ed, she hummed, for the third time that day.

She didn't feel that bad about not going to Jasper about this. He always seemed to understand her actions better than she did herself. He respected her need for space the times she craved it. She didn't even need to say it, he simply acted accordingly, kissing her cheek and absconding to do something with Rose or Emmett. Mulling over her curly-haired boy scout, she didn't acknowledge the dull sound of the bell until people started filing out of the classroom, not giving her a second look.

The large, cat-eyed vampire stood over her soon enough, a lazy grin on his face. "Hey short-stack." He put his large hands out for her to grab onto, which she did, and he pulled her up to her feet.

"Hey Thor. I came to pick you up." Erin said back, grabbing the handle of her backpack. Emmett chortled with amusement as she began to lead the way in between the hallways towards the parking lot where his Jeep and Rosalie's convertible rested.

"I appreciate your chivalry." He said as they strode through a big puddle at the clearing to the blacktop. Well, Erin jumped into it, while Emmett stomped and splashed everyone around them with the dirty, murky water.

"Yours too." She returned lightly, feeling the rain water soaking through her sneakers into her socks, making a cold _squelch_ with every step she took. But his soaked socks made more of a _SQUEESH_ sound, because he continued to stomp onto the street, leaving wet dirty foot prints behind him in his wake. Rose would have forced the both of them to remove their shoes if they were going to join her in her BMW, so instead they took the Jeep.

Everyday after that, Erin was faced with Bella Swan without Edward by her side to at least frighten the annoying twat into submission. And her levels of irritation grew higher and higher with each word spoken out of the girls mouth. It was by Friday that she had reached her limit. She stabbed her pencil into her textbook, incredibly close to the girl's translucent hand, with a harsh glare in her eyes. "Listen up, toots." Erin snapped in a whisper. "I don't care if your Daddy sent you to do this shit or whatever. But read my goddamn lips. Leave. Me. Alone. I don't want your help or advice or whatever else you try to babble to me about. Drop me, and my entire family for that matter out of your range of thought." She threatened her, getting incredibly close to her, attracting the attention of a few students around her. "Approach me again and I'll shove this pencil in your eye. Got it?"

Bella Swan, with all her knowledge and experience, nodded.

"Erin. The Office, right now." Banner began to say, but she was already on her feet and out the door. "Already going!" She shouted as 19 sets of eyes followed her.

* * *

 **A lot of you wanted a bit of Bella pov, but this is the Erin show, so i only put in a little part, because its so hard to display nothingness inside of fern.**

 **R &R**


	33. Chapter 33

**Book 1: Twilight**

 **The Next Week**

 _ **Rhiannon  
**_

* * *

Instead of going to group, Jasper drove her to the closest burger joint. And she would swear years in the future, that that was the day her love for him tripled in magnitude, without the pressure from their mating bond. Both of them loved their family, no what-if-ands or buts. But. The truth was that privacy didn't exist in the Cullen house. With super hearing and senses, there wasn't anybody but Erin who didn't know everything happening in the house. When they weren't covering their alibi's, they often separated. Carlisle and Esme took magnificent trips all over the world. Saw the pyramids, the Amazon, made friends everywhere they went. Emmett and Rosalie went to more romantic sights. Paris, Rome and Mexico. Edward often went to concerts, wherever they occurred in the world, and _whenever._ Alice, an anonymous designer went to her own shows in Milan and New York during the summers.

Jasper and Erin would not wait until the summer time.

They pulled into a dirt parking lot to a small burger place with the menu on a poster board, painted in red and black letters. There was a small square of a window to the rectangle-shaped building that looked like it used to be a garage. He bought her a burger and fries, foods drenched in what might have been butter and mustard, things that Esme wouldn't have allowed her to eat in the house in such large quantities.

They sat in a nearby field, Jasper's smooth black Chevelle parked in the distance. The field was covered in grass, where the occasional white and red capped toadstool and dandelion sprouted up. What amused Erin the most was that some of the toadstools in the field formed a circle. A fairy ring.

"Who would win in a fight? A fairy or a vampire?" Erin asked after a moment of staring at the mushroom ring, looking up at Jasper with an amused smile on her face that brought the heart in his chest into stutters. So he put his hands on his narrow hips and considered the fairy ring.

Then, he looked at her with a playful shine in his butterscotch eyes. "Let's find out." He said lowly, seductive as he backed up, removing his jacket from his firm torso and dropping it behind him. She laughed, putting her thumbnail between her teeth as she watched him approach the ring of mushrooms. He rose his leg, hovering his foot over the middle of the ring, keeping it statue-still naturally before looking behind him at her, a taunt written in his handsome features as he kept his foot over the circle. It fell down, just brushing the tips of the tall emerald-green grass.

"Hey, you kids!" A crotchety voice said from behind them, somehow not only making Erin jolt, but Jasper as well, as if he didn't even notice someone coming at all.

An older man, with a large red overcoat and maroon ball cap approached them. He might as well have been swinging a cane around, because he looked two seconds away from telling them to get off his lawn. A sarcastic remark was already prepared on the tip of her tongue, but the feeling of Jasper's arm around her waist and his eyes turning amber silenced her. Her mate stared down the older man who was shuffling past them to the mushroom ring. He plucked the white caps up, gathering them in a paper bag before turning and glaring at them. Erin was expecting him to say something else, but he only backed away from the look in her mate's eyes, grunting and turning towards the paved parking lot behind them.

" _Dick._ " She said after he was gone, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're gonna have to find out some other time, Tex." Erin said casually, plucking up the paper boat full of soggy french fries up from her jean jacket. The weather was better where they were, where some heat and light filtered in through the white clouds. It was lucky that they were the only ones stopping by the roadside burger stop, because Jasper was glittering slightly in the bit of sun light, like a Swarovski crystal. It was weather like this that made her miss California's blue skies and comfortable spring temperatures.

The tall blonde wrapped his arm around her, leaning in and pecking her lips happily, making her smile against his lips. "We should go somewhere." She muttered, grasping him by his t-shirt and pulling him down to her level.

"I want to go everywhere on Earth with you." He breathed into her mouth, his hands sliding down her bare arms to grasp her hands in his cool ones. That strong, romantic statement from him made her stomach flip pleasantly, something she and never felt before, even with him. To her fingertips to her toes, Erin felt a warm buzz within her. Her hands grasped his tighter, and he brought them up and kissed her olive tinted knuckles.

"Take me anywhere." She said simply, voice plain though held a bit of vulnerability that even she could hear. Her fingers tracing the silver-white bite marks on his throat, landing on one in particular on the left side of his neck. He sighed in pleasure at her warm touch. Jasper's golden yellow curls fell about his face in what could be a halo, making him look unearthly beautiful. Even his eyes, which remained an amber color, were angelic—Handsome. The two of them escaped from the field soon after, an odd feeling laying in a cloud over them, they packed into the long black Chevelle, and they drove away.

/~/

Alice flickered out of her vision, returning her eyes to the fabric underneath her hands, the cotton catching underneath her perfectly filed fingernails. She looked down, at the hook her nail made, and the loop of cotton string around it. Her small hands gripped the expensive cotton, her fierce grip threatening to tear it and her work in two. Then, she relaxed her muscles, body falling limp and back against her bed. Her jealousy was contained only by her mate being out there. But she _craved_ her. Her mate and her warmth, despite not knowing her name or where she could be.

Her visit to Reno during Valentine's Day was a bust. She had nothing to go on but her face, which she had memorized and sketched again and again, the drawings themselves strewn all along the walls of her bedroom. In charcoal, colored pencil, paint and canvas. Alice squeezed her eyes shut, looking for her mate, trying to find anything about her at all with her short amount of information. _There!_ She thought with girlish excitement as flashes of her mate appeared in her mind after strenuous minutes of searching her out.

 _"I told you Freddie, I can't work double time. My Mother needs me home taking care of her." A voice, the most beautiful voice_ _—_ Her voice— _said to a man in a cheap vest and tie._

 _"C'mon Cassandra, you're my best singer, you bring in all the money. Your father could-" "My father is a useless bastard, he can't help nobody but himself!" Her mate cut across to the man firmly, slapping her dark hand down onto a surface below. A table? Her mate, with glittering light brown eyes, commanded attention. Not just hers, but the man almost cowered from her brilliance._

And that was it, the flashes gone, and her hunger increased tenfold for her mate. Cassandra, the man called her. Her natural hair had been covered in her vision, with a long caramel blonde replacing it, and she was covered in a brilliant, glittering red dress. But instead of being soothed by the gift of seeing her mate, she wanted only to see more. More more _more,_ she wanted to know everything about her vibrant woman. She wanted to know where she sang, craved to hear her voice carry notes for her and her alone. More than anything, Alice wanted just to know her. To smooth away whatever pains she had, whatever responsibilities her Cassandra had, she would assist in every way possible. Because already she had stolen her lonely heart with the few glimpses she's had of her.

"Alice?" Edward's voice rang from her window. He was wearing the same clothing he had on the day Bella Swan's life was threatened by him, she noted, clutching her chest and the ache it felt.

"You're back." She said, her smile growing fond as she took in how soaked he was. It started raining around 3 o'clock, not at all something unusual, she barely noticed it when it rained anymore. Edward shook out his copper hair with his hand, keeping out of Alice's bedroom politely, and making sure that none of the water that was drenching him got into the house.

"Yeah." He said, skillfully sitting against the light wood panel of her window. "I upset Tanya too much being there." He sighed, thinking of the way she ran back towards the house, away from him. He hated upsetting his family, even his cousins. Tanya didn't have true feelings for him of course, it was only his refusal that gave her any displeasure, but she was kind to them and he did love her in a way. He wished dearly for her to find her true mate, rather than continue on seducing human man after human man. "Do you see anyone for her?" He asked Alice gently.

She shook her head, sadly. "Not yet."

Edward nodded and stood up, water dripping down heavily from his coat and pants. "I'm going to go get rid of these clothes. They're mildewing." He told her before jumping down from her window, leaving towards where his rectangular bedroom was.

Erin and Jasper hadn't returned yet from their date, and Alice didn't want to know what they were doing. So she picked up the cotton she was working with and packed it away, plucking a canvas from the wall and settling it against her aisle. She smeared red against it, painting a voluptuous body and natural brown ringlets.

Edward came home knowing Erin was out with Jasper. He could usually pluck out her thoughts easily in their crowded house, her inner being amusing him immensely as she commented on things through her life. Often during classes, when he traveled to her head, sometimes she would even mention him as if he was in the room, point things out like she knew he was in her head. Making sarcastic little tidbits that made him snicker underneath his breath, which Emmett would pick up on during their shared Spanish class. And he had missed her during his cowardly escape to Denali. He was still angry with Bella Swan, with her extravagantly lovely smelling blood, for being that force that caused him to run away from his family.

He refused to back down now, he would take his families strength and encompass it as his own, he would not allow Bella Swan and her brown eyes to haunt him any longer.

* * *

"It's going to be okay." Alice breathed. Her eyes had been unfocused since they got to school, somehow still able to walk around without tripping over herself or from the assistance that both Erin and Emmett offered her. The entire family walked closely in a group, the two most intimidating of them, Rosalie and Emmett leading the pack like some kind of bodyguard or bouncer, his brute muscles stiff. He was prepared to tackle and hold Edward down should he snap at the scent of the Swan girl. Jasper stayed at Erin's side, his arm around her shoulders protectively.

Edward cringed inwardly, clearly disproving of their battle formations around him. He grumbled something that Erin didn't hear, but whatever he had said didn't matter to her that much.

When the youngest of them had returned home late that night, she discovered her missing brother in her and Jasper's shared bedroom, laying on-what was primarily— _her_ bed. _  
_

_Erin crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wall, purposely looking away from the ginger's form. She was stubbornly trying to remain pissed off with him. He did deserve it, what with his_ inability _to call any of them to tell them where he was going or when he'd come back. She even kept her thoughts from him, thinking firmly of a cobble stone wall, with nothing, not even graffiti on it. Edward furrowed his brows as he sat up and looked a bit pleadingly towards his littlest sister. "You can't keep that up forever." He reminded her, but she only stiffened up harder. He could even see the physical strain in her, heard the movement of her muscles tightening on her bare legs. She was wearing the rare light colored dress she owned. It was splashed with primary colors, and he had stared at the splotches for a long time-or at least, longer than he felt was necessary.  
_

 _"I'm sorry I left." He said, tearing his eyes from the colors on her dress. The red, yellow and blue. "I had to get away. That_ girl _," He spoke of Bella cruelly, like she was some kind of monster that had come to ruin them. "I would have killed her and ruined everything." Ed explained, calming himself and putting his hands on his knees, looking over at his sister's face, which was still in a grimace._

 _Erin scoffed and slumped down onto the floor. "We would have gotten over it." She muttered, picking at the carpet, pulling out the thick yarn-like material. But he shook his head, adamant about his resistance. "No, I wasn't about to disappoint Carlisle. I had to leave. But I am still sorry about it. I know how you reacted when Alice said so." And he had felt horrid about that too, about the stomach curdling feeling that she had felt at the word 'Leave.' "I'm very sorry, Erin." He told her, moving up from his spot._

 _She resisted his hug, her arms hanging down at her sides for a while before grasping his shirt sleeves. Then, that morning afterwards, she shoved sloshy-wet snowballs down his back. They'd mostly made their peace with each other.  
_

"She's not here yet, but the way she's gonna come in—She won't be downwind, not if we sit in our usual spot." Alice said, her voice odd as she focused more on the future than their path towards their lunch table.

"Of _course_ we'll sit in our usual spot. Knock it off, Alice, I'll be absolutely fine." Edward snapped, looking extremely annoyed.

"Just in case, get your mops at ready." Erin said dryly, sitting down in the offered chair that Jasper pulled out for her. Ever the Southern gentleman. Alice focused on Edward, and agreed with him lightly, the glassy look in her eyes being blinked away by a fresh coat of venom.

"Thank you, Erin. I find your care for my well-being exceedingly helpful. I hope you choke on your food." He returned to her curtly, making her smirk as she toothily took a bite of orange chicken off her fork. Jasper smiled at his brother, his mock hard to miss. All the times they've hovered around him in a group, in case he made a mistake, was now an experience being forced on Ed, who absolutely was not appreciating it. His snaps were focused on all of them, ever since showing up to school. Jasper and Emmett in particular were keeping a focused eye on him, both strung up and prepared for the worst.

Erin darted her eyes out, looking for where the baby Swan would walk into the lunchroom, hating her for existing. Had she really been prepared to not be horrible to this girl before she knew her? Now, it was like she was created to feel nothing but spite for this girl. She hoped that Bella had taken her forceful advice, for her to cease talking to her and her entire family for all of term, no matter what her father asked her to do. ** _This_** was how she would commend the Chief's kindness. By keeping his daughter alive and far-FAR-away from them. Away from the pack of bloodthirsty vampires who would skillfully remove any evidence connecting them to her _disappearance_ when she inevitably got too close one day.

Decided, she leaned back against the back of her chair, calm hazel eyes flickering towards Edward, who looked immensely focused on something. Looking for what Swan had said about him last week, filling in the cracks that Erin left behind in her own police work.

"Anything new?" Jasper asked.

"Nothing. It's strange—She must not have said anything." Edward muttered, looking confused. Emmett snorted, an humorous, loud sound. "You're not so scary, Ed." He teased him, reaching over and smacking the back of his shoulder, the sound resembling something like metal scraping against a car-door.

"I could have scared her better." Emmett bet. Edward rolled his eyes. Then, the large, bear-like man settled down in his seat, leaning heavily on his large forearms. "Wonder why.." He mused, his cat-like eyes flickering over towards the table that the girl sat at. She wasn't there yet, but still he looked over there, actually embarrassing a passing girl, who ducked her pink face down and hurried along. Rosalie sneered at the girl as she went. Erin blew bubbles in her chocolate milk, making Rosalie's nose wrinkle up at the foul-smelling liquid heading towards her.

"She's coming in." Alice murmured. "Try to look human."

"Human, you say?" Emmett asked, mischievous. He held up his large white hand, and in his fist was a ball of snow. He squeezed it into a palm shaped ball of ice, and was staring at Jasper with a dare. Erin ducked down immediately, grasping the end of her mate's dark shirt and pulling it up. It headed towards Alice, who flicked it away with the back of her french manicured fingers casually. It darted out across the room, hitting the wall and cracking the hard red bricks underneath with the sheer amount of force that Emmett had thrown it with. Erin peaked up from under the table once the miniature flying comet was gone from her vicinity.

"That was more like _the Mask_ version of humanism." Erin drawled, some strands of her brown hair falling out of the two buns on top of her head.

"Very nice, Emmett." Rosalie sneered at her husband. "Why didn't you just punch through a wall while you were at it?" He grinned toothily at her, but that didn't deter the scathing look she was sending him.

"It'd be more impressive if you did it, babe." He crooned soothingly to her. The two of them continued their banter, lowly, their eyes going gross and dewy as they mooned over their love for each other. Erin avoided their love like the plague, eating a chunk of what was meant to be pineapple while fingering the neon green plastic figure around her wrist. When she looked up again, Edward was staring crossly at the table, a false smile on his face, not like his usual crooked ones or even the mean ones he sent her way when he was right about something. She kicked him underneath the table with the heel of her black boot, making the heel of her foot throb slightly, but he did look back up at her.

"You look like you just took a bad Imodium." She stated, concern underneath her usual tone of flat indifference. There was something else off about him now that Swan had walked in.

Jasper, usually just as indifferent during their shared school lunch times, leaned towards Edward, blonde eyebrows raised expectantly. _Are you getting attached, or distracted?_ He thought to him, feeling his brothers minor concern over the Swan girl. It was likely whatever monstrous being that remained inside him, that didn't want the Swan girl dead by anyone or anything else but himself. Edward glared across at his brother, stiff and annoyed. "Shut up." He commanded, crossing his arms over his chest in an almost childish way.

"Ease up, Edward." Emmett told him. "Honestly, dude. So you kill one human, it's not the end of the world." He said gently, looking towards his very much human sister with consideration, but she only shrugged, agreeing with neither of them.

"You would know." Ed murmured, mostly with displeasure and accusation. Emmett chuckled. "You need to learn to get over this kinda stuff like I do. Eternity is a sure as hell long time to sink in self-pity and guilt." He said, handsome face covered with an almost 'You Got it Dude' attitude. And then, it was walloped with snow, thrown by Alice, ice soaking in Emmett's hair. His mouth was open in a shocked 'o', and water was now dripping from his girlish eyelashes and dark brows. And then, he grinned in anticipation.

"Oh just you wait, baby." He said before shaking out his icy hair, it was melting in the warm room, and was now hitting Alice and Rosalie. Alice laughed, while Rose squawked, recoiling away from him. Erin covered her face, in case the water got flung her direction.

"Urgh, Em you might as well be a goddamn Labradoodle!" She complained, feeling wetness against her forehead and wiping it off with the back of her wrist.

"Woof." Emmett barked, teasing them. Jasper growled, loudly, his teeth bare and his lips up in a smile as he confronted his brother, raising his shoulders. They might as well have been covered in fur and carrying wooden clubs.

For the rest of the short 45 minute lunch they had, it went on with Edward making little comment, only ever that fake smile on his face. Erin didn't like it, how off he was being. He was just so focused on the Swan girl, trying again and again to know what the silent girl was thinking. Personally, she just thought that nothing was going on in there. Nothing important or unlike anyone else in the world. Isa _Bella_ was nothing interesting.

The bell rang, and the kids around them began to file out of the cafeteria; Erin stayed put in her seat, along with the rest of them, who watched Edward with veiled concern. Waiting to see how he would act now.

"I... _think_ it's okay." Alice said hesitantly, looking at him with her shoulders narrowed. "Your mind is set for now. I _think_ you'll make it."

Jasper took Erin's wrist underneath the table, feeling her anxiety heighten. "Don't push yourself, Ed." He suggested, though really it was much more of an order. "Go home, no one will think less of you if you do." He continued, his voice hardened slightly, which made Edward's eyes dart towards his. Heard his thoughts, his memories of having to leave for home before when it became too much. Emmett shrugged his massive shoulders, folding his arms behind his head, entangling his fingers together.

"What's the big deal?" He disagreed. "Either he kills her or he doesn't. There's no stopping stuff like this, it'll happen sooner or later."

"I don't want to move yet." Rose groaned, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "We can't just start over again and drag Erin along with us without drawing attention. And we're _finally_ almost out of high school, Emmett."

Inevitably, it was purely Edward's pride that forced him to go to Biology class, to confront Bella Swan. He wouldn't uproot his family, he decided. "It's firming up, Rose." Alice said, staring off past Erin's empty milk carton. "I'm ninety-six percent sure nothing will happen if he goes to class." Erin reached down, picking up her black backpack and putting it on top of her lap, it's jingling taking Alice's attention off the milk carton and back to their copper-haired brother, who no longer looked nauseous.

"Go to class." Edward ordered the rest of them, reaching over and grabbing Erin by her (it was actually Jasper's) coat-sleeve and walking off towards their classroom. They weren't late. Banner was still setting up for a lab, and to their horror, Bella Swan was sitting in Erin's seat, and a boy with shaggy hair and a red beanie was sitting alone at Bella's spot. It would effectively separate the two of them, making it all that harder for Edward to resist. He had already stopped breathing, taking in the wood-smoke and water-like shampoo smell that lingered around his sister and keeping that with him as Banner separated them, seating Edward with Bella and Erin with beanie-head boy, who cowered away from the bitch-y expression on her face.

The lab was stupid, checking for onion root cell phases, something she did as a sophomore with the other Science teacher, Mrs. Tate, even though she was technically for students who didn't excel.

Erin settled in her seat, keeping an eye on Edward ahead of her. She did a double take, noticing how his lips were actually moving. Was he trying to get the entire class killed, what made him think that talking to the girl (who she very clearly told to steer clear of the whole family) would do anything but risk her life further? _Idiot_ , she thought, giving him a fervently irritated look that he ignored. Ed and his stupid pride was going to piss off Rosalie when they had to move because of this moment.

Her sheet had most of the answers (some most likely wrong) scribbled down in both her, and beanie-guy's handwriting. They were finished by the end of the class period, taking so long because she didn't take her eyes off of Edward's back. As soon as the bell sounded and she had her jingling bag ready, Ed took his little sister's hand and dragged her along behind him out the door. ("This is really becoming a bad fuckin' habit with you!" She had squawked.) He left her at her next class, where Alice was waiting for her.

* * *

 **Ugh, I know, I went along and made romance at the beginning, and now I'm going to HIDE MOST OF WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY FROM ALL OF YOU! But, as a recompense or whatever, I brought a tidbit of Alice's mate. And Edward's true mate, but it's barely noticeable to anyone who isn't me. And it's so far away from meeting 'em.**

 **R &R**


	34. Chapter 34

**Book 1: Twilight**

 **Tuesday, March 2005**

 _ **The Girl with the Dented Ford  
**_

* * *

Erin was stretching on top of her false Chevy, trying to soak in what little light had broken in through the cloud bank, but the chill was still as awful as usual. What little heat had melted the ice on the grass was already beginning to re-freeze. Goosebumps appeared on the skin of her arms, underneath the crocheted blanket that she had around her shoulders. All of the heat beamed down on her face, likely sprouting more freckles and sunspots there in it's wake. Edward was out hunting (again) with Carlisle this time. While she didn't know that much about their hunting habits, she did know that the kid was gorging himself like a chubby boy at the Candy Baron. All of this was in order to keep from annihilating the Swan girl where she stood, and really Erin couldn't argue against his efforts. Bella Swan must have been the most unlucky girl on the planet, she mused, feeling the Sun's few rays hitting her face, warming her nicely. The chick was basically vampire-meth, and all she had to protest her actual death was Erin. Forget Charlie Swan, he wouldn't stand a chance if Edward came knocking on his door. Maybe she could lure him away somehow, go with him to at least have half of the Swan family survive... Say a kid fell down a well or even dress a little slutty and hope that'd distract him long enough for Edward to bury the girl's blood-less body. But that was just Plan B. Plan A was Swan would live long enough to have two and a half kids and then she'd die at 80 like everybody else.

The small girl pushed herself up from her car, sliding down it's hood and into the dirt. Her flip flops did little to protect her, but only some of the dry-ish earth got between her toes on the way towards the sliding glass door. Erin pushed her cheap black sunglasses on top of her head, her bangs being pushed up ridiculously as they stuck up pointedly on the back of her head. She paused by the couch, where Alice sat there dressed impeccably, with a blood-red dress and form-fitting black trench coat. "We all good?" She asked her, sliding her hands in her jean shorts pockets, thumbs hanging out when they didn't fit inside.

"Yeah. The weather will be back before we get there." Alice answered her, picking up the black remote control and clicking off the news. _As if it told her anything she didn't know already_ , Erin thought, a bit amused.

"And Ed?"

"Pulling in." She returned.

Erin nodded, paused for a moment, looking at her adopted sister awkwardly, before exiting towards her bedroom to change. Their relationship hadn't improved since Erin's acknowledgement of her past romantic interludes with Jasper, nor had it gotten worse. They were just simply two people who were related and generally tolerated each other's presence. Alice still seemed not to have given up on being friendly with her though, as she sometimes tried to bond with her over odd things, like her visit to Reno last summer. It was Alice though, so who really knew what she was up to?

She dressed without looking at what she was putting on, ending up in a not-yet dirty light purple tye-dyed colored baseball t-shirt that was two sizes too small (she bought it in 1998) and light jeans that had an irremovable mustard stain on the inside right thigh. The top black tentacles of her tattoo crept over her hip from where her shirt didn't cover, but Erin accepted that with a tiny nod before shoving her feet into her dirty and almost falling apart white Nikes and slumping down the stairs with loud ' _burump burump burump's_ '.

Jasper was waiting for her downstairs. Alice was gone from the couch when she got there, and there was no evidence she had been there at all. Erin breathed out her nose heavily before strolling over to her mate. He took her waist, and for a minute she thought he was going to kiss her. But rather than that, he picked her up (only a foot off the ground, she would have screamed if he took her any higher) and plopped her down onto a kitchen stool. " _You_ need to eat somethin'." He told her. She huffed, crossing her arms and leaning them heavily on the marble counter top.

"All I want is grease." She stated as he rustled through the kitchen cabinets.

"Do you want it in shots or soup form?" He replied, borderline sarcastic as he pulled out a jar of mixed fruit that was clearly more expensive than it should have been, considering the foreign language written on it.

"I want it in a to go cup, so I can sip on it on the way to school." Erin answered as he drained the juice of the fruit and put it in a bowl for her. It smelled tropical, with chunks of pineapple, mango and other mysterious fruits inside. Probably something unnecessarily weird as well, like guava or papaya.

"Unavailable. Instead you can have coffee, fruit and leftovers." He said as he took out the Thai food she ate last night, holding his breath and putting it in the microwave before he could get a whiff of it's... Fragrance. Truly, food was very revolting to him, especially the foods that his mate adored consuming so much. Everything seemed too processed with too many chemicals and preservatives. But she would protest if they ever tried to replace her meals with anything else. The only good food she'd accept were meals that Esme or Carlisle cooked up for her, and even then, she still hid Hostess snacks in her backpack. Holding his breath, Jasper slid the warmed to-go container to her, which she quickly got started on eating.

"Carlisle and Edward are back." He informed her, hearing the two approach the house, chatting with each other and sensing their emotions as they got closer. Erin turned her head, her mouth full of thick brown noodles and peppers, in the middle of chewing them down as she looked towards the front door, where the two of them would come in through. Then she stopped, turning back to face Jasper, washing down her food with a gulp of black coffee. It's bitter taste made her want to cringe, but she took it all the same as she heard the glass door open and the two men return.

Jasper took the blue sugar dish out of the cupboard, feeling extremely content fetching things for his mate's comfort, even began a small fantasy of his own, cooking for her in a home that the two of them would share. Somewhere warmer, where she could see the sky everyday. A dog, he had seen her looks linger on a few pooches that were being walked when they drove to school. He'd get her a whole pack of dogs if she wished it. Erin took a few sugar cubes out of the little glass container, stirring her cup around with a small silver spoon, dissolving the sweetness into the black coffee, making it a bit more bare-able. Esme made some strong-ass coffee.

He flickered his eyes up towards the staircase, hearing Edward's light conversation with Alice. Politely, he tuned them out, instead watching Erin take gulps of her coffee with interest. (How could she drink something that smelled so strong and disgusting but still keep it down? And how did the smell manage to be so _tantalizing_ when coming from between her lips? It's been the longest time since he's had a cup of coffee.) But he couldn't help but feel his adopted brother's fear when Alice spoke out loud. "Something's happening, and I don't know if it's a good thing or not. It's like you're at a crossroads, between two futures.." Worriedly, he pushed away from the kitchen island, just as the sound of Edward's footsteps trailed up the stairs.

It was mostly silent on the way to school that morning. Instead of Edward's Volvo or Jasper's sleek Chevelle, they took Erin's Mustang and Emmett's Jeep. Edward was quiet in the back of her car with Alice, neither of them buckled in and their backpacks were stuffed down at their feet. Normally, Ed would complain and nag her about the poor state of her interior, granted it was in good condition, but the sheer amount of wrappers alone were enough to get him going. But he only commented once, just once, and it hadn't even been that good of a shot. Disappointed, she cranked the radio.

 _"We both lie silently still in the dead of night. Although we both lie close together, we feel miles apart."_ Brett Michaels, the douche-y lead singer to Poison, crooned out from her speakers.

 _"Though I tried not to hurt you, though I tried... But I guess that's why they say every rose has it's thorns."_ She pulled onto the road to the school, nearly being rammed into by a stupid SUV. Erin cursed at him actively, kind of wanting to dent the crappy kids back bumper for that bullshit. Get himself fucking killed. Turning into their spot, she dully listened to the band she wasn't all that fond of. It felt weird listening to it just now, ominous sort of. She wanted to turn it off, but instead she pulled the break and left the song running along with the motor. Erin lingered by her car, as did Jasper, who brushed the back of her hand with his fingers. But she didn't move, only pressed her flat hands out on top of her blue hood.

Edward and Alice were both looking out over the parking lot. Waiting for the Swan girl to show. Emmett and Rosalie hesitated by the Jeep for a few beats before heading off to class without them.

 _"Every rose has it's thorns..."_

The sound of the rumbling old Ford truck was hard to miss, and Erin tilted her chin up to observe the girl pull in across the lot. She was doing what she had barely done, and that was drive carefully around the slick ice on the black top. She wasn't really that far away from them, hell, she could smell the goddamn fumes from where she was standing. The small girl wrinkled up her nose at the heavy scent of exhaust. Then, Alice yelped, "NO!" with shock and almost terror.

"Alice?!" Jasper said sharply.

 _"I listen to our favorite song playin' on the radio. Hear the DJ say loves a game of easy come and easy go." "But I wonder does he know, has he ever felt like this?"_

The sound alone was enough to tell what Alice's vision was about. Tyler Crowley, in his large van, was now _skidding_ across the slick ice, right towards the girl whose life was just about to be over. Brett Michael's voice continued to croon, as the van moved and the tires screeched across the black top, fully intending to crush and mangle the plain Swan girl. No one saw Edward rushing towards her in a white flashing blur. _"I guess every rose has it's thorns."_ And nobody saw him grab the girl around the waist and out of the way. And no one could see his **horror** when the van kept coming, right for them. He caught the large vehicle, the windows cracking and shattering from the force of his push. _"Just like every night has it's dawn."_

Alice had her hands clamped over her mouth in horror, her eyes gone completely black as the reality of what just happened occurred to every human in the lot. There was screaming now. Panic, alarm, rushing towards the accident victims, at least twelve people calling 9-1-1. Tyler Crowley was likely dead inside his van, bleeding out, what with how Alice had reacted. Jasper was holding onto Erin's shoulders, which were stiff and uncomfortable tight as she glared at the grey vehicle that killed both it's driver and Bella in the process. Edward wasn't there anymore, he was in the cover between the van and the orange truck that used to be the Swan girls.

 _"Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song. Every rose has it's thorns."_

Sirens appeared sooner than expected, and Erin moved to go towards where the girl likely laid there dead. She didn't know where Edward would be, gone perhaps. Before anyone could see him. But Jasper and Alice both grabbed her by her arms and moved her to the back seat of her Mustang, before she could question anything and know any true facts at all. They were off, past the ambulances, past the ice with the tire skid, and down the road towards their home. _"Every rose has it's thorns..."_

* * *

Jasper was resolved, his muscles tense and his eyes sharp. The Swan girl survived the accident. She had seen Edward rush towards her and save her. Their family was in danger now, because of what the girl had seen. Alice's movement and decision to take Erin home was a good one. He didn't want Edward to know his intentions now towards the danger that Isabella had brought with this incident. Rosalie was still at school, she would be fuming, angry—hell, just fucking _pissed._ She would not be hiding how quote unquote bloodthirsty she'd be. She wasn't wrong however, this was becoming quite inevitable. He'd go alone, she'd die quietly, he wouldn't draw it out like Rosalie may be tempted to. It would be merciful.

Erin sat at the dining room table, her back to the large piece of artwork on the wall. He wanted to sit with her, but instead he stood behind her, his arms folded behind his back, stiff and straight.

Carlisle and Esme walked in, sitting at the head of the table as they always did, holding hands on top of the table. Rosalie and Emmett both sat on the other side, Emmett supporting his strong wife even through decisions as tough as this. The lines were drawn, with two groups on either side, and Erin and Jasper directly in the middle. He was firm on his decision, no matter what happened during this discussion. He would not have his mate be endangered, in any way, and the Major curved and stiffened his body in a protective stance over her small body. The Volturi would not spare her life if their attention was called towards them because of this incident.

Edward, sitting at Carlisle's side, shifted in his seat. He knew that as well. "I'm sorry." He said, looking over towards his siblings who were sitting opposite him, purposely avoiding his littlest sister, whose expression was drawn up and confused. She didn't understand the danger of what had happened, of what he had done. What might happen if this got out to their world. "I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my actions.." He mumbled, a tad shamefully, but his own pride didn't allow him to bow down completely.

Rosalie's glare could have melted a glacier as she stared directly at her brother, her chin jutted down and her eyes darkened to amber. "What do you mean by that? Taking full responsibility? Are you going to clean up the mess you created?" Her words were absolute and solid, almost frightening with how cold she was.

"Not the way you're speaking of." Edward returned quietly. "...I'm willing to go. If that will help at all." He said hesitantly, noticing the way Erin snapped her head up and glared heatedly at him.

"You're not leaving again." She stated, and Esme fervently agreed with her, reaching over the table to grasp her youngest's hand. "What'll that do but force Swan to talk?" Erin said with a hard edge in her voice, and he cringed at the amount of disdain he heard in her head for the girl he saved. For the girl she was trying to keep safe from him. He bowed his head down slightly, copper hair falling over his forehead.

"Edward, stay." Esme pleaded, her beautiful face covered in a shadow of sorrow.

"Erin's right though." Emmett said from next to his wife. "You can't leave the town right now, that would be the _opposite_ of helpful. We gotta know what everyone's thinking, way more than ever now." He said urgently, cat eyes flickering to the fuming Rosalie who was still glaring across the table at Edward. But he shook his head in disagreement.

"Alice will see the worst of what happens." He said, but it sounded like even he didn't believe it. Erin stewed in her anger, especially since he continued to avoid her eyes by turning his head and looking away quickly before he could catch her gaze. Her blood was almost boiling, not unlike the way Rosalie was sitting and hatefully wanting to slam her palm onto the wooden table and crack it underneath her strength.

"You don't know her mind."

"I know this much. Alice, help me out here." Edward pleaded across to his sister, who was sitting there with her shoulders up and close to her ears. She looked at him wearily. "I can't see what'll happen if we ignore this." Not with Jasper and Rosalie so intent on acting.

Rosalie hit the table, hard, like how Erin wanted to. "We **can't** just allow this girl the chance of speaking out! Carlisle, you've got to know what will happen if she talks. If _any_ of this goes sour... It's not safe! Not for us, and especially not Erin!" She snapped, gesturing swiftly to Erin, who was looking behind her at Jasper, who was looking at Edward pointedly, with accusations in his eyes. "She's still human, and we live so differently from the rest of our kind—you know what will happen if any of them decide to point fingers at us." Rose left it at that, letting the dangerous intent of what would happen to their very human family member settle over all of them. It made them all uncomfortable, the thought of Erin being dragged from them and executed.

Edward said nothing about that, only repeated what he said earlier, "She won't say anything."

Rose scoffed bitterly, standing up from the table and making both the chair she was sitting in and the table screech against the floor. "I can't believe you. You're willing to risk our entire family on a hunch that this stupid cow won't let slip what she saw?!" She cursed at him, and Emmett grabbed her forearms, in case she decided to act.

"Rose-" Carlisle warned her.

"No!" She snapped. "Carlisle listen to me for a second. It wouldn't have to be big. She hit her head today, maybe it turned out to be worse than it looked..." Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. "Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of not waking up. The others would expect us to clean up the mess created in our territory. Technically, this would be Edward's responsibility, but clearly this is too much for him to handle." She added that with a bit of a cruel streak, tilting her head up high with a bit of superiority. "You know I'm capable of control, Carlisle. I wouldn't leave even a stone out of place." This struck Erin as a bit heartless, something that she's never felt from her blonde sister before. She usually craved life, and she didn't even think that Rose would snuff it out so easily, even with the threat against them.

"Yes Rosalie, we know how good of a goddamn _assassin_ you are!" Edward snarled at her, his cursing shocking some of them.

"God, just fucking shut up!" Erin shouted from her spot, slapping her hands to the sides of her face, clamping over her ears. All attention was now on her. Jasper moved from his spot on the wall, approaching her, but before he could lay his hands on her, she slapped them away harshly. Hurt, he backed away like he had been wounded, his face written over with emotion. She breathed out heavily, smacking her hands flat on the table and pushing herself away. "We're not killing her on purpose." Erin said to Rosalie, who looked like she was about to protest, but the glare she received from her sister settled her back into her chair with assistance from Emmett.

"It's one thing to cover it up but a whole other to _, god,_ murder her." She said frustrated, grabbing a chunk of her hair and pulling on it as she shoved it back behind her. "She did hit her head, maybe she went a little nut-so afterwards." Erin mumbled to herself, walking purposely away from Jasper, who looked like he desperately wanted to follow her and soothe her worries. But he stayed against the wall, his legs like concrete.

Carlisle turned back to his daughter. "Rosalie, I looked the other way in Rochester because I felt you deserved justice. The men you killed wronged you in the most monstrous way possible. But this isn't the same situation, the Swan girl is innocent." He told her sternly, before turning to Erin, who had just begun to cross around him. He grabbed hold of the back of her shirt gently, pulling her back to face him. "And there's no honorable way to discredit her. If we make her seem to be insane, even with Jasper's help, it'll break Chief Swan's heart." He said more gently. Erin turned away, crossing her arms around herself, like she were cold. "Better that she be crazy than dead." She said plainly, looking over towards Edward.

"I agree." Rosalie then said, suddenly on board with this new plan, to confuse and frighten the girl to the point of her being shipped somewhere in a straight jacket. Alice shivered in her spot.

"No." Edward returned, glaring across the table. Rose's arms flew up before smacking down against her thighs. "This is for the safety of _everybody,_ Edward! _"_ She looked ready to explode in anger, and Emmett looked nervous. "It's not personal. It's to protect us. To protect her." She strained, gesturing to Erin with her hand, and making their brother look more and more like he was about to be sick. He felt like he was being forced to choose between his family, his _sister_ , and Bella Swan, and it was killing him. Two humans, two what seemed to be the most important humans in his undead life, and he was stuck between them. At Edward's pause, Rose looked towards Carlisle expectantly.

He nodded, and her eyes lit up. But he never compromised. "I know you mean well, Rosalie... But I'd very much like for our family to be _worth_ protecting. The occasional lapse in control is a regrettable part of who we are." But then, even though he included himself, Carlisle had never had a single lapse in his life. "To murder or make this girl out to be insane is something purposefully cold blooded... The risk she represents is nothing compared to the greater risk. If we make exceptions to protect ourselves, or even someone more vulnerable, we risk something much more important. The essence of who we are and who we want to be in this life." Carlisle concluded, his speech making Rose slump back into her chair with disappointment. Edward looked like he wanted to applaud, and taunt his sister further.

"It's being responsible." She said quietly, a scowl on her beautiful face.

"No, it's being callous." Carlisle corrected her, firm in his stance. "Every life is precious."

"If life is so precious then why are we not trying harder to protect _hers_?" She countered, looking pointedly at her youngest sister, who was still pacing slightly, looking unwilling to sit back down at the heavily uncomfortable atmosphere over the table.

"Erin's life isn't on the line." Edward told her, though he didn't seem all that sure of it himself.

"Yet." Jasper said coldly, from his place on the wall. At this point, it was barely Jasper anymore with the way he held himself. Carlisle turned towards the Major, cautious but not yet willing to back down from the threat his oldest son was now. "She's safe, Jasper. The question right now is should we leave and move on with her?" He asked his question mostly to the rest of the family, despite watching Jasper out of the corner of his eye.

"No." Rosalie grumbled, her shoulders slumping down. "That would attract attention, we can't just take off like we usually do with Erin with us. Plus there's so little sun here, we can almost be normal." She protested.

"We don't have to decide right now. We'll wait until we deem it absolutely necessary."

"Erin turns 18 in September, if we wait til then, there won't be any legal questioning." Jasper said lowly from his spot on the wall. His eyes hadn't left Erin, whose pacing had softened and now she simply was watching from next to the large dish case behind her, unusually silent as they discussed what was basically her entire future in front of her. In the end, she would follow along with Esme. To agree and do anything that kept them all together. But while Jasper wanted to do whatever made her happiest, he was also firm on his decision, and that made Edward frown.

"Jasper." He called to him. "Bella Swan won't die because of my mistake."

"Mistake?" Jasper echoed, accent thick and threatening. "She was supposed to die today, Edward, I'd only be finishing what was meant to happen. I will not allow Erin to have even the slightest of danger against her life. I thought _you_ of all people would understand that, considering your relationship with her." He said dangerously. He didn't expect any resistance other than stubborn pride from him, but there was something else, something worse bubbling underneath Edward's skin that didn't want Bella Swan to die in this way.

"I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm saying I won't let you hurt Isabella Swan."

They stared at each other, considering the others determination.

"Hey Blondie." Erin muttered from her spot against the china-case. A confused frown was on her face, her arms crossed lazily over her torso, her upper back leaning heavily against the wooden doors. Jasper turned to her, matching her frown. "Give it up. Eddie here has clearly lost it. And if you two start a fight it'll do a lot more damage than Bella Swan could ever cause. So let's just quit it alright?" She sighed. "Chief Swan wouldn't be happy if his daughter died mysteriously in the night."

Jasper shook his head, his resolve just about flickering indecisively, when Alice, who had been mostly silent during the meeting, spoke up.

"Jazz, if you kill Bella, I'll throw you off a cliff." She said lightly, threateningly, at her brother. Edward's breath caught in his throat. "She's going to be my friend, and I'll be very angry with you if you hurt her, got it?" Then, she sighed with a bit of relief, her eyes getting a milky film over them. "See? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."

But she lied. There were definitely things to worry about.

* * *

 **I'm super trying to dramatize shit now. I'm not doing it _well,_ but I'm still doing it.**

 **R &R**


	35. Chapter 35

**Book 1: Twilight**

 **Reno, Nevada  
**

 **Sunday, March 2005**

 _ **Cassandra Carter's Day in the Dumps**_ **(Part One)** _ **  
**_

* * *

She was more than exhausted, she was freaking _kaput._ This seemed to permeate much deeper than simple exhaustion somehow. Maybe it was the half a mile she went through in heels on her way back from her Honda. Or maybe it was the large show she did that night? Whichever the hell it was, it went into her goddamn bones and drained her out _dry_. _ **  
**_

Cassandra kicked off her heels at the door to her apartment, dropping them neatly off by the door. Her feet were killing her. She had to get a place closer to the Lounge, hopefully somewhere without the huge amount of stone step. She looked around her clean place, noting that her cat was still very much hidden, likely still peeved with her for taking him to the vet two days before. He had no right to be upset with her, since the vet bill alone was a 453 dollar deduction out of her savings, on a cat whose leg was now shaved and covered in a pet-pink cast. Rolling her light brown eyes, she took a few steps forward after locking her door behind her, pain radiating what felt like fire every time her foot planted against her carpet. She collapsed into her white couch, heaving her long brown legs in front of her and resting them on one of her decorative pillows.

"Uhh." She groaned, laying her head back against the armrest. Her body ached terribly, especially as she started to stretch it out, cracking something in her back before it strained enough to loose the muscle. Cassandra relaxed back into a slump against the creme-colored cushions.

Her day had possibly been one of the worst of her entire life. Never before had so many things gone terribly, _disgustingly_ wrong in a period of only 12 hours. Weary, she raised her hand up to her head, rubbing her throbbing temple with her fingers. Her Mother's caregiver, a young blonde thing in ice cream cone printed scrubs half the time, had called her unexpectedly, saying that her grandfather had died and that she just couldn't come into work today. Her Mother was very accommodating, and apologized for her loss. But the fact remained that she still desperately needed help that morning. Not only getting her dressed and making her breakfast, but also getting her to her Church service and back.

Cassandra felt guilty over how she acted today. Like her Mother was a _chore_. She wasn't, she adored her Mother, had always idolized her when she was a girl. But as she got older, as all people did, her body began to fail her. She was stuck to a wheelchair on her worst days. On her better days, Irene Carter could make it through the day with only her cane.

Her Mother was quite the particular woman, she always had been. And that hadn't changed. Cassandra had to pick out several of her Mom's Church dresses from her closet, taking quite a bit of time to actually make a decision. At least 25 minutes before she had settled on the lightest of pink dresses and her kahki colored coat. Her breakfast was much the same.

After getting Irene back to her small house and into her cushy champagne colored chair in front of the television set, she had to rush out to the lounge in her sturdy black Honda and get dressed in whatever discount gown was in her dressing room. Today's? A short navy dress that had layers of sheer, sparkling black cloth over her body. It hitched much too high on her thighs, and the inside seam scratched at the curve of her hip to the point there was likely a small, irritated wound there. The manager there, who was technically her boss despite not even being her supervisor, was named Roger and wore a slick three-piece suit with tags that stuck out from the back of his collar. His eyes had lingered on her in a way that disgusted her, and he approached her after her third number back stage. _"Hey Cassie."_ He'd said lowly. That infernal nickname. She **hated** it. Especially coming from him. _"Capital job up there."_ His tone made her insides churn with disgust. Capital. He was such a pretentious idiot.

It was common knowledge among the workers of the hotel that their lounge singer was a gay woman. But Roger didn't seem to _understand,_ seeing himself as a prime specimen who somehow brushed past ANY persons preferences. He had the rare condition of being a complete and utter jackass with very few redeeming qualities. It was no wonder that he's been divorced twice and been left many many times by his lovers, men and woman alike. One of said redeeming qualities (and really, they were FEW and with much space in between such events) was that he was quite a rich bisexual man who was 100% for the rights of homosexuals. The results of his advocating got her hired in the first place, even when the owner found out about her, whereas other owners would have fired her on the spot using some false excuse to get her out of their premise. Many people apart of the Gay community kept their sexuality hidden for this exact reason, but not at the Mountain Ridge Hotel. Thanks to Roger, they were free to express themselves. But that didn't change his inability to take a 'no' from anybody seriously. He thought it was adorable, and that he was the special exception.

So Cassandra left as quickly as she could, out the back door after her final performance. It was easier to just ignore Roger's misplaced advances rather than report him to Human Resources. He was doing some good at the Hotel, it wouldn't be right to get rid of him, even if he was a total pain in her ass.

On the way back, her _sturdy_ black Honda decided to start blowing smoke halfway towards her apartment. She'd had to stand on the side of the road with her AAA card and wait half an hour in the chill of night for them to arrive. They'd picked up her car and left her to walk all the way home, wishing she'd worn something thicker than her dark blue jeans and violet blouse. That was how she ended up with aching feet and a killer headache, laying exhausted on her couch with not even her cat happy enough to come and see her when she came home...

Cassandra frowned at how pathetic her thoughts had turned. Was she really turning to her _cat_ as a cure for her loneliness? She scoffed, covering her face with a pillow. She'd hadn't always been this way, she used to be _confident._ What happened to her? To the strong woman she used to see in the mirror? The curvaceous figure she had remained, and the heart-shaped face with the strong nose and same tint of brown that she'd always had. But on her red lips, instead of curved up in a smile, was a frown. Confounded by the amount of emotion she was feeling, she got up, her feet giving her slight pains as she walked towards her bedroom, forgoing her usual nightly ritual of a cup of decaf coffee in front of her computer.

Instead, she undressed, pulled a dark violet nightgown over her head and crawled into her cold, spacious bed.

/~/

By two in the morning, only four hours after hastily falling asleep, Cassandra had awoken twice. The first time because her cat had knocked something over in the kitchen, breaking something made of glass. But for all of her tired attempts, she couldn't find what it was. Worried, but still exhausted, she returned to her bedroom. Her sleep was hardly peaceful the second time. All through it, she dreamt of gold eyes, outlined by long black eyelashes. They were shockingly yellow, in a way that both frightened and excited her. But they shocked her awake, hot sweat beaded on her forehead, dripping down the side of her neck and drenching the pillow beneath her head. By this time, she was horribly _awake._ Rather uneasy, Cassandra rose up from her bed, grabbing fistfuls of her hair before throwing her feet over the side and exiting her room.

She padded in towards her fridge, her eyes half closed and her hand pressed against the side of her face. A horrible, sharp pain radiated from her left foot, and she let out a scream of surprise. She slapped her hand down on her kitchen countertop, hopping back on her right foot. Blood was spurting from the open wound on her foot dripping down onto her kitchen floor. "Agh!" Cassandra yelped in frustration, hopping until she found one of her kitchen chairs, collapsing into it and bringing her injured foot to her lap, leaving a bloody trail behind her. She saw the large, jagged piece of glass sticking sideways out of her foot, and she glared at it before pulling it out gingerly. The pain in consideration to the injury was way worse. It hadn't even gotten in that far, the amount of blood was so completely unnecessary that it ticked her off.

She tossed the glass piece into the sink, making damn sure that was the only piece inside before holding a kitchen towel to it. She gritted her teeth, holding it tightly to stop the bleeding.

"Jesus Christ!" Cassandra hissed. Tom, her tabby cat, complete with a pink cast around his back leg, wandered into the kitchen, jumping up onto the kitchen counter top. She almost wanted to throw the dishrag at him in anger, but currently it was the only thing keeping her from dripping blood all over her apartment. She fumbled for her home phone, an old black rotary that she pulled into her lap to dial for a cab.

Cringing, she had trouble speaking calmly on the phone with the man before getting up and hopping to retrieve one of her dresses, yanking it over her form. It was a dress she hadn't worn in a while, not since the last summer. It was a long halter dress, colored off-white with thin vibrant floral prints all over it. She could remember small teasing olive-tinted hands tugging the tie loose from behind her neck the last time she wore it. Her hair had been straightened at the time, done up in a short ponytail. She'd been _herself_ then. It was the most fun she'd had in a long time, acting like a little kid with this girl, this woman who was only just visiting the hotel. It was the most thrilling two weeks of her life, spent with one of the most breathtaking girls she's known.

Just looking over at her reflection in the dress, smoothing her hands over her sides and seeing who she had been with _her_... It made her smile. She had taken a bit of her heart when she left, and she missed her. Missed the feeling of falling in love. Having someone small and petite cuddle up to her at night, having someone to wake up to in the morning. Eat breakfast with, go out and do whatever they wanted, _whenever_ they wanted together. No responsibilities, no care in the world for anything or anyone but each other. It was a breathtaking feeling.

A honking brought her out of her romantic reverie. Out of the past. Cassandra sighed and tied the halter straps behind her neck, limping over and grabbing her bag and a pair of sandals on her way outside towards the awaiting taxi cab. The driver, a Latina woman, opened the door for her kindly so she could shuffle into the backseat. She smoothed herself over, straightening up her posture as the woman got into the front seat, buckling herself in. "The closest hospital, please." She said curtly.

It took ten minutes to get there, and thankfully her blood clotted up and stopped quickly after. She paid the woman, and limped off towards the hospital door, which opened up. There were hardly any people inside, except for the woman at the front desk in teal.

"Hello ma'm." Cassandra said politely, leaning heavily on the desk. "I stepped on a piece of glass, I may need stitches." She told her. The woman didn't look that sympathetic. Rather, she handed her a wooden clipboard and was told to fill it out. Her hand tightened on the board, tempted to slap it down on the brightly covered countertop, perhaps that would wake this woman up. But, as her lack of sleep was now catching up to her, she simply took it and sat down in the gaudy blue seats, swiftly entering the information down with the ridiculous flower-topped pen. Her handwriting, usually impeccable, was a bit rushed and thick in places where she pressed down too hard on the paper.

"Alright, it's not too bad. Just one more stitch and you should be ready to go." The doctor told her 45 minutes later, finishing up on her foot. It only needed three stitches, and she took them all with a tight grip on the of the medical bed she was placed in. Her knuckles had gone white, she was holding it so tightly. She hated getting stitches, the feeling of the needle through her skin and the string's texture. Even numbed, it was very uncomfortable. The lounge singer felt her Doctor finish up, tying the knot of her stitch before pulling away and setting the bloody utensils away.

"Alright Ms. Carter, the worst part's over." He said to her with a bit of humor, picking up a roll of gauze after removing his bloody surgical gloves, disposing of them. As he wrapped her foot, he continued to chat with her, not really noticing that she wasn't listening to what he was saying. "I remember the first time I got stitches. I was thirteen, and I had been climbing the tree out at the park. Fell down and cracked my forehead against a rock. Had to get at least twelve stitches, now that was something." He babbled, tying the gauze tightly.

"Thank you, sir." She said to him, pulling herself back with the strength of her arms, getting a sizable distance. Her left leg was still numb from her mid-thigh down to her toes, like it was permanently asleep, only without the pins and needles sensation.

He clapped his hands on his knees, giving her a kind smile. "Well you're going to have to stay until morning, or at least till the drugs wear off. The white button on your left will call the nurses to you if you need anything at all. And with that I'll wish you a good night Ms. Carter." The Doctor said with a briefness that she greatly appreciated, and she gave him a grin as he closed the door behind him. She sighed and clicked on the television that was up in the corner of the room. Nothing good would be on at this time of night of course, but still she searched for something on the tv set. Xena the Warrior Princess was on.

 _"You know, her boyfriend is in love with you."_ Gabrielle was saying as Xena washed her back in a large bath. Xena hummed, taking hold of the blondes wet hair and washing it gently. Cassandra watched, seeing how the two interacted, so obviously intimate with one another. _"Guess I'll have to take care of that too."_ She said simply, shrugging her bare shoulders. Xena inquired why, the strong woman leaning in close to Gabrielle's shoulder. _"Cause I do the sensitive chats."_ Gabrielle said matter-of-factly. "Well that doesn't mean that I can't." Xena returned, daring her partner, her confidant, her _friend_ to continue. The dark skinned woman, left in a hospital bed, noticed the shine in the dark-haired characters eyes, even from far away. It was playful, and loving. The slightest of smirks in the corner of her lips as she looked down at her companion. Gabrielle didn't notice in the television screen. _"Why do you have to be so competitive about everything?"_ She asked, turning to face her friend.

As the two continued to bicker, which led to Xena splashing her partner which huge, strong waves of bath water, Cassandra dropped her eyes to her knees. The oddest pulling sensation occurred in her chest, and she put her hand over her breast quickly, feeling her heart beat steadily underneath her ribcage. She furrowed her brows, clasping her hands over her elbows before laying back against the pillows behind her. She didn't feel good, and she shifted slightly, sensing how heavy her leg was. So she turned the television off, leaving her in a much too bright room with only the sound of the rain outside her window.

She grabbed hold of her thick thigh, making some effort to turn it to the side, her body moving with it.

Cassandra stared at the door to her room, watching a few nurses walk by, all of them wearing printed scrubs and carrying some clipboard or pushing trays with medical equipment on top. Sometimes a doctor would walk by indicated by how they were dressed in pure white coats with hanging name tags from their pockets. That was how she saw a man, an abnormally beautiful man with pure white skin and red tousled hair. He strode right past her room, drawing her eyes to him like magnet. There was something about this person that seemed dangerous somehow. Maybe it was the way he walked, or the straightness of his back as he came through the hallway. She pushed herself up, her eyes intently on the square window of her door, as if the man would return just to peer inside at her like a visitor at a zoo.

But instead, it was dead silence. A quiet that almost _frightened_ her.

And then... The screaming began.

* * *

 **Doing another chapter despite the very little amount of reviews I got last time. Meh.**

 **Cassandra is Erin's ex-girlfriend/lover, I know! I felt it was only appropriate that since Alice's ex is Erin's mate that Erin's ex should be Alice's. Symmetrical writing, yay!**

 **R &R**


	36. Chapter 36

**Book 1: Twilight**

 **Saturday, April 2005**

 _ **The Nightmares of the Quileute Reservation**_

* * *

 _I hate him_ , Erin thought bitterly as she parked in one of La Push's small parking lots. It was rather cold out, as it was still morning and the clouds were still heavy around the area, but at least they weren't dark and threatening to rain down. She was dressed in folded up jeans that rested low on her hips and one of Jasper's sweaters, his scent thick around her. That had been his condition for allowing her to go along with Edward's bribery.

Over the last week and a half, Edward had spent almost all of his time either avoiding Bella Swan or peeping on her through her window. When Erin had found that out, she almost exploded at him, shouting and waving her arms around dramatically and almost breaking one of her toes kicking his stupid piano bench. Not only was he endangering the Swan girl's life, but he wasn't acting like himself... Sometimes he'd just stare into space, at a wall or in the corner just thinking, and a scary look would come over his face. He'd never scared her before when he could control it, but when she walked into the room and found him looking that way... She was scared that he was actually considering something terrible.

Jasper shocked him out of it most of the time, and then he would return to acting himself. But it still wasn't the same, no matter how much Edward tried to pretend it was. And then, after the blood-typing incident at school, he learned that his obsession was going to La Push, which was in the Quileute's land. And so he begged Erin, the only Cullen who could set foot in the Reservation, to go in his stead.

 _"Erin, please, you didn't see what I saw. It's like she's a magnet for every bad thing in a 10 mile radius!"_ He'd said to her urgently as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away fervently. Jasper was glaring at his brother daringly from next to her, not at all appreciating the way that Edward was treating his mate, like he could use her as a way to continue his strange fascination with the silent-minded Swan girl.

 _"That's not my problem, it's not like she's going to jump off the goddamn cliffs there Edward!"_ Erin had retorted, but Edward didn't budge up from his requests (begging).

 _"Considering it's her, she certainly has a bigger chance of it than anybody else."_ Erin had scoffed in response to that, though she certainly didn't deny it. Swan would be the type to run across a bear or stumble down a mountaintop and end up in some thief's hands (though really, if there were going to be any thieves involved, it'd most certainly be herself pick-pocketing the girl just so she could contain some of her semblance of superiority over the taller girl.) It took Edward several promises and buying her a brand new, ridiculously expensive swimsuit for her to agree to him. She was going to the beach after all, even if the ocean was horribly cold.

Inside of her counterfeited Chevy, Stevie Nick's voice was crooning out in the haunting way she did and Erin kept the motor running as she got out of the car and sat on top of the hood, where the engine was keeping her warm from the slight chill. It was a shame she was actually being forced to be here because it was kinda beautiful there, even reminiscent of the cold San Francisco beaches that she had rarely visited in California. At least there weren't as many sharks in Washington, much too cold for them to enjoy the waters.

 _"Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me... I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me..."_ The delicate bass and strumming coupled with the smell of the beach and the light chill in the air made her smile contentedly. Hell, even the gulls, white sea-rats of the sky, the sound of them brought her right back with her father digging sand crabs out of the soaking beach, putting them in her big blue pail with the plastic handle. Erin took a squinted look up at the sky. The sun had left a little while ago, but would surely be off and on all day. Edward, Emmett and Jasper should be out in Rainier by then, out of the sun hunting.

Edward was always hunting nowadays.

 _"Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me... I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me..." "I'll follow you down til' the sound of my voice will haunt you..."_

Erin reached inside of the car and turned the key, stuffing it into her rucksack which she tossed over her back before rolling up her window and heading out towards the beach. She was right, the sun had indeed returned to peering out through the clouds, the blue sky giving the beach a vision of light aside from it's usual grey-tinted beauty. She unzipped Jasper's sweater from her, letting it hang to the sides to reveal her torso and the curve of her chest that was inside of the black bikini top that she had received out of Edward's bribery, along with the multicolored bauble that she had pierced through her navel.

She already saw Bella and a few other of her classmates. Of them, Lauren Mallory was there, along with Angela and Mike-fuck-your-face-Newton. Hell, she wanted to laugh at the ridiculous group they'd gotten together. Edward was right. If there was ever a time for Swan's life to be snuffed out, it'd be with this group watching over her. Hell, Mallory already looked tempted to grab the girl by her hair and drown her in the nearby tide pools. They surrounded a pit filled with a driftwood fire, the blue-green flames tinted by the salt that was soaked within the blackened branches and logs and creating a flickering fire that looked like it could have come out of a Disney villain.

Erin approached them with a lazy sort of saunter, her dark brown work boots marking her footsteps in the smooth pebble shore as she got closer.

Bella looked up from her place and her eyes landed straight on her, her dark eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the other girl. She noted just how _arrogant_ the youngest Cullen looked as she walked, one leg swinging out in front of her to create a small half circle and landing heavily just as her other began to swing out and around in much of the manner. Of the sort of haughtiness and cheek that she seemed to emit naturally from herself with the simplest of smirks. Erin Cullen was the strange kind of beauty that didn't require a pretty face to be considered attractive. It was the way she moved and acted as if she were a 7 feet tall goddess that easily rivaled her with her older, blonder sister, confident and aware of her surroundings that struck Bella Swan in a way that almost warned her the danger that the shorter girl could send into her life. And as usual, she didn't sense these warnings to save herself from the brutal honesty of the woman approaching her.

Eric flushed when he saw her, his eyes lingering far too long on her almost naked torso. It certainly made a few of the girls uncomfortable, even Angela, though Bella almost looked a bit in awe. _Good_ , she thought a bit amiably. She liked the idea of Edward's obsession having an equal obsession with her. It'd certainly be very fun to test out, especially with how annoying he'd been acting. _It'd be a good punishment_ , Erin thought. _Maybe then he'd cut it out stalking her when he saw how creepy it was when the girl does it._

"Cullen." Mike said with surprise when he saw her stop just behind an empty lawn chair that he likely put out. "What are you doing here?"

Erin's expression said ' _What the hell do you think I'm doing here, collecting seashells? Dick._ ' But rather than speak, she only raised a dark, perfectly shaped eyebrow, making him almost tremble in his sandals. Jessica fumed in her spot and turned to the girl behind her and repeated Mike's question, with a much more irritated look compared to Newton's dumbfounded one. Hell, all of the boys there, along with Bella and Angela, was looking at the Cullen girl with a look of shock and a bit of awe. And sure as hell, Jessica and Mallory did not approve.

"What, a girl can't catch a few waves without you knowing about it, Newton?" She inquired finally, putting her hands in her sweater pockets, shifting her shoulders out, broadly and making herself seem a bit bigger.

"We were going to hike to the tide pools." Bella suddenly spoke out in the silence that followed her question, making quite a few of their group turn and stare at her. "Would you—Well, do you wanna come along?" She asked her, looking a bit nervous at what her response would be. Hell, so did Jessica and Mallory, who both seemed to realize that if Erin said yes, they'd have to go along to keep Tyler and Mike away from her.

She considered it, though really, she thought tide pools would be boring unless it was filled with eels and spines for her to push the others onto. Then, thinking of Edward's earnest pleading, Erin sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. If just to watch Newton get poisoned by a sea urchin."

Bella visibly brightened and got up from her spot next to Angela, letting the fringed, tan and red blanket to fall from her shoulders back into the white wooden bench as she eagerly stood up, prepared to go along with Erin. This only made her frown though, seeming to understand the torture she was about to put herself through by going along to boring old tide pools with the one girl who would of course slip and conk her head on the way there. This was most definitely all Edward's fault, all because he dragged the Swan girl over to himself during lunch that one day. Jasper in particular hadn't liked his decision, though he'd been much more silent about it compared to Rosalie and Erin's fierce glares. He'd been stiff and angry with him when they got home, and then had taken out his fierce frustration on decimating a few mossy covered trees. The two of them had been fighting with each other behind Erin's back, the primary reasons being Erin's safety and Bella Swan.

Jasper may have given up on killing the Swan girl because of Alice's vision, but she could always change her mind, he'd reminded Edward. And with that threat at hand, he'd always be prepared. Edward and Alice protecting her or not. And so, the arguing between Jasper and Edward continued.

Hiking wasn't Erin's favorite thing to do, nor was it fun for her, but what was fun was watching Bella attempting to talk and hike at the same time. She stumbled over rocks, over the high, dying grass, kicked into the bright purple beach blossoms whose spikes clung to the girl's shoe laces, scratching at her heels. While she wasn't at all babbling, she was trying to chat with her, though she was smartly avoiding the topic of Edward in the one-sided conversation. In an attempt to dissuade her from talking to her, Erin only gave few-syllable answers and grunts.

The tide pools were slippery, with dark wet rocks covered in sea-slime and seaweed. Flies buzzed around the rotting seaweed in heavy clouds and bounced up like fleas from the small pools of water. There were a few sea creatures clinging to the pools, the occasional bumpy orange starfish and a few hermit crabs and snails that suctioned themselves to the rocky inside. The sun played it's own game of peek-a-boo, it's light flowing out from the clouds and beating down on their backs before hiding back behind the clouds and leaving a gray-ly toned atmosphere around them. It was thanks to Erin that Bella didn't fall and scrape herself against the rocks, grabbing her roughly by the elbow and yanking her falling body up back onto her feet. She would always stammer out a 'thank you' when she did this, though her embarrassment certainly didn't make her any less likely to talk to her.

On the way back from the tide pools, Erin played hero thrice more, until Newton took up the duty by keeping Bella closely at his side. By doing this, the Swan girl ended up scraping her palms against one of the rock formations. It would have made her smirk, if she didn't know that if Edward HAD followed the girl there like he'd wanted, treaty or no treaty, Bella would have been very much dead because of Mike Newton's inability to keep his crush from hurting herself.

"Cullen!" A woman voiced, catching her attention away from the pebbles in front of her, which she had been considering throwing very hard at Lauren Mallory.

"Leah?" Erin guessed, seeing the tall, dark haired girl approach her. She looked angrier than when she last saw her, her beautiful face strained with more lines now. More hard edges.

Leah gave her a tight grin in response, after her dark eyes looked around at her company. "I thought I recognized that car in the parking lot." She told her, jutting her chin out, looking down at her. Her wide jaw looked like it could cut glass with her pitch black hair pulled back like she had it then. It was quite a bit shorter than the last time she saw her, now it looked like it could only brush the nape of her neck. "So whatcha doing here? Not surfing, are you?" She asked, lingering on the bikini-top that Erin had on.

She shrugged in response before leaning back on her hands on the bone-white bench, looking up at where Leah stood behind her. "Not particularly. Actually, I think there's far too little to do around here. Bit bored." Her response looked like it had tickled Leah, because then her nose wrinkled up in repressed amusement, the lines on her face darkening from the strain of keeping her smile down, creating more of a grimace.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." The other girl stated, like she wasn't sorry at all. But the playful undertones of their quiet exchange were enough to amuse the both of them while the others in the group that the littlest Cullen obviously wasn't apart of continued on with their own chatting, very much ignoring the two women. Erin didn't notice the way Bella was cringing into Angela, who was cleaning her palm and bandaging it with a butterfly plaster.

All day, Bella had been trying to bond with Edward's closest confidant. The conversation she'd had with him during lunch, he'd mentioned Erin. And the way he spoke of her, with such fondness and the usual irritation a brother felt for his meddling baby sister... It sounded like herself, when she thought about her Mother, who was just as likely to follow after a band across the world as Erin would be. Bella felt such a _connection_ with Edward then, and no matter how much he warned her, told her that he was dangerous, she was _never_ going to shake off that vision of him and the look on his face when he talked about his family. It was something they had in common. Their ridiculous girls they'd do anything for.

And now, Leah was succeeding where Bella failed. And now she just felt hopeless, just sitting there not saying anything with Angela.

"-find him?" Erin was saying quietly to Leah. Her face when hard and angry, her face turning a shade of pink at the mention of _Sam Uley_.

"He wasn't ever lost." She returned bitterly, crouching down into the rocky shore, the pebbles clacking and making little sounds as they bumped against each other from Leah's movement. Now, she was very close to Erin, her lips close to her ear. "Came back a week ago. His hair was all... _Chopped_ off. He got a tattoo, and now he's all totally beefed out, like he took steroids or something..." Her voice was upset, not like she was about to cry, but like she was about to scream and rip all her hair out with her bare hands, throw a tantrum.

"You okay?" Erin asked, not really knowing what else to say, though she was thankful that Leah wasn't tearing up or anything.

"Not really. But my cousin, Emily, is coming down soon. I think maybe she'll help me work a few things out." She sighed, looking rather worn. So the smaller girl reached out and put her hand on Leah's shoulder, where the frayed short sleeve of her tee shirt ended. Her russet brown skin was radiating warmth, such heat that it warmed her palm just by touching her for a short time. Her hand slumped away, without Erin giving her another word. Leah seemed to appreciate that, and understand her meaning. She wasn't good at comforting other people either.

"Er, hey Erin." Angela spoke up, a bit shy, but clearly not as mortified looking as Bella was next to her. "Tyler brought a bunch of barbecue stuff, do you want anything?"

Oh yeah, Tyler was missing from his place next to Lauren. He was gone, and so was Mike. There was also a small, insignificant looking black barbecue that was next to the fire, dug halfway into the pebble-y shore, so it wouldn't be knocked over. Erin thought longingly about Jasper, missing him and how he'd started cooking little things for her. They were all decadent things, and never tasted quite like they were meant to. The trouble was he was trying to make them from his own human memory rather than from any recipe, but she had gobbled his odd creations like it was the best thing on Earth.

"No. I'd rather visit that taco truck up in the village." She returned coolly, stuffing her hands into the large pockets of her mate's sweater. His scent was starting to fade, especially with the womanly smell of Leah being so close to her.

"I'll come along. My brother's been haunting that area for days now." Leah drawled, getting up from her kneeling position, slapping her palms against her knees to get the tiny pebbles that were clinging to her flesh back into the shore. Erin got up after her, tilting her chin up to have to look up at the other girl's face.

"Me too!" Bella yelped, getting up from her spot sharply, looking very much like the nerd who wanted so badly to be best friends with the coolest girls in school. The two looked over at the pale, plain faced girl who was clutching the inside of her sleeves anxiously. It must have been some kind of nervous tick of hers, because she'd been doing it off and on all day, especially when trying to talk to Erin. Leah looked irritated, the mean look in her eye somehow going right over the Swan girl's head like she didn't even notice it. And she likely didn't notice, because her eyes were stuck on the shortest of the three, who looked a bit amused.

"Fine. Don't forget your cash then, Swan." Erin expressed, not unkindly because she found the other girl kind of funny now, what with all her awkward mannerisms and obvious attempts to get her to like her. Then again, Leah looked very unhappy about Bella tailing them. She was unsure whether it was because of Bella herself, or because the two of them wouldn't be alone on the trek up there, she was didn't know. Which was why when they returned, paper boats filled with soft tacos in their hands, and a boy with long dark hair and an almost diminished baby-face approached Erin's little super-fan, she didn't make any complaints.

There was no reason for her to go following the girl every minute, even if Edward had begged it of her. The worse thing that would happen is that she'd slip into the ocean, which wasn't even at high-tide yet. That boy looked strong enough to wrench her out of the sea, Erin concluded before turning back to the tacos on her lap, squirting the juice from the lime wedge all over them, followed by salsa.

"Y'know, the Cullens aren't supposed to come here." Leah told her after swallowing a large bite of her fish taco. She didn't look too worried about it.

"Technically I'm adopted." Erin played off just how correct her acquaintance was about that. If anyone other than herself showed up at La Push, it would be a legal free-for-all to rip apart the entire coven. Then again, what with the descendant of Ephraim Black telling all the Cullen's juicy secrets to Isabella Swan just a hundred feet away from them, who's to say who gets to desecrate who?

* * *

 **R &R**


	37. Chapter 37

**its baccck agghhh death squad**

* * *

 **Book 1: Twilight**

 **A Week Later**

 _ **The Captain and First Cadet**_

* * *

Jasper had his hands full as the news that his brother in arms and his mate would be visiting for the next week was brought to attention. Alice saw it the day before they were supposed to come, so he only had so much time to prepare for them.

The bed was thankfully still intact from the last visitor they had (Tanya, likely, though the scent was so light that even he wasn't absolutely sure), so all he'd had to do was change the spread and such. Peter and Charlotte were nomads that rarely settled down, so they'd be wanting to make themselves presentable before seeing him. Despite no longer being his underlings, they still took on the looks that he preferred, which was cleanliness, order and some level of neatness in their appearance.

"Whatcha doing?" Erin asked him from the door, her lips around a bright green popsicle. He smiled and approached her, taking the cold treat from her mouth and covering her lips with his own.

"I am getting this room ready." He told her, swiping away the green from his mouth before touching her chin with his fingertips affectionately before turning back to what he was doing. The soft huff behind him made him smirk, amused at her childish behavior. She leaned heavily against his bent back, her arms loosely tangled around his neck. The melting popsicle was dripping on his shirt, slightly colder than he already was.

"How come?" Erin inquired, purposely trying to be irritating to her unusually serious mate, trying to get a rise out of him. This routine would be much more annoying to Rosalie or Edward, who both might as well have had all of their hair standing on end. His 'twin' was being unbearable, though she wasn't as much of a threat to the Swan girl as he was. Also the silent fight between himself and Edward was worse than the weeks previous. The mind reader was determined to remind the elder vampire at how far he was willing to go to protect Bella Swan. And Jasper was becoming more and more tempted to kill the girl just to make a point about it. The only string holding him from doing so was Erin's demand that he not touch her. At least until she had somehow repaid Chief Swan for his kindness. Then, the slate would be clean, and he'd be free to protect what belonged to him fully.

"My brother in arms'll be joining us for a short while with his mate. Peter and Charlotte." He informed her of their names for her to remember, tucking in fresh sheets underneath the mattress. Erin had noticeably stiffened against his back, which he pretended to ignore. She was feeling nervous, anxious now, from his terminology. 'Brother in Arms', he said. Not his real brother, but someone he was close to that she hadn't met yet.

"They're not animal-drinkers like we are." Jasper warned her casually. He was extremely confident that Peter and Charlotte both would rather tear off their own limbs with their teeth before even thinking about his mate as a meal. The two of them respected him too much. But he had asked Carlisle to stock donated blood in his study, just in case either of them felt jittery around her. Unlikely, considering Erin's scent certainly wasn't appetizing in the least, but it was better for them to be safe than sorry.

"They aren't, huh?" She grunted, still on his back as he laid out a tropical printed comforter that Charlotte would enjoy. She was fond of the tropics, yet the two of them so rarely had the chance to visit the islands.

"No." He said.

Erin didn't say anything else on it, only rested her cheek against the back of his neck, smelling the fabric softener on his collar and the purely male smell from his skin. She didn't have any experience with other vampires other than her family; the Cullens. So she imagined Nosferatu and Drusilla, with long fingernails and red eyes. Then, she thought of Jasper, his amber colored eyes replaced by a thick, bloody red film over them and a cruel smirk on his perfectly narrow face. But none of them fit quite right, until a dying human body was being held in his arms.

"Are you and Ed really gonna keep on with this silent treatment shit?" Erin then asked, sliding off of his back onto the carpet. She tossed the popsicle stick into the tiny trash can by the door.

It was Jasper's turn to huff. "I'm not giving him the silent treatment." He told her irritably.

She snorted and shook her head, mimicking his words and rolling her eyes. "Oh really? That's cool, that's awesome. If you're not giving home-boy down there the silent treatment, then why haven't you so much as sat in the same room with him for longer than 10 minutes? _And_ you came back from that hunting trip before the sun even went back down last week." With every word, she took a step closer. The youngest Cullen was really fucking tired of all their stewed up crap, not to mention the fact that they were pretending they weren't fighting like goddamn high-school girls about this shit. Then, Erin grabbed Jasper by the chin, forcing him to tilt his head down at her direction. But his eyes were far away, behind her shoulder, avoiding her stare.

This only set her off, and childishly Erin stomped her foot into the ground and yanked him close by his collar so his face was in her neck and her mouth by his ear. "Cut your crap and make up." She demanded. Jasper sighed into the crook of her neck, sounding like he was going to protest, but she only repeated her order in a voice that said she'd certainly find a way to make this hell for him if he didn't. It would likely involve blue-balling.

He took her back, pulling her much smaller and slighter body into his own, his long arms wrapping around her and pulling her into a hug. She always found a way to make him concede into her plans, he thought, not unhappily, but in a soft, tired way that made him wonder why he even tried to resist her in the first place.

/~/

Peter and Charlotte both were opposites of one another.

Where Peter was tall, Charlotte was short. Peter had dark colored hair and a firm, muscular build. Charlotte had long light yellow hair and was petite all over, not all that different from Alice's stature, though the nomad held herself in such a way that made her drastically different from the other vampire. Like she was ready to run away at the slightest suggestion of a threat.

Erin had greeted the two of them with a brief raise of her hand and the two of them had stared at her intently for a long while before suddenly Charlotte approached her and grasped her around her torso, pulling her to her hard, cold body in a firm hug. She had grunted in surprise, her forearms out and making damn sure not to touch the other woman. Before she could even consider thinking about telling the older, colder woman to release her from her iron-like grip, Jasper did it for her by placing a hand on his good friend's shoulder and gently pushing her away from his delicate mate.

"Sorry Lottie, Erin's not the biggest fan of bear hugs." He told Charlotte, a bit amused by the pout she gave him immediately afterwards. She was thrilled about Jasper finding a mate, especially after what had happened with Maria so many years ago. And with the few phone call's they'd gotten from him after he'd found her, they were both physically holding themselves back from thanking the human girl on bent knees.

"Of course, I apologize. It's just that, well, we are so happy for you two." Charlotte chirped, looking damn happy for the two of them for sure. She was blinking her big red eyes at them like they were her favorite band come to personally shake her hand before asking her to suck the blood out of their bone marrow. Peter wrapped a bone-white arm around her waist, pulling her to his side and holding her tenderly.

"Forgive her." He said to Erin, who was now being held similarly by Jasper. "She's not wrong, we've ah, been _excited_ to meet you since 'Maj here said he'd found ya."

"Oh really." She returned lightly, her eyes drawing up to the tall blonde at her side. His hand tightened around her hip, pulling her closer. Erin leaned into him more, his cool body welcome to her warmer one.

"I may have let a few words slip." He said stoically. A small smirk drew up the right corner of her mouth and she stepped on his foot, bringing her height up an inch higher from the thickness of the dark brown boots he was wearing.

"So!" Charlotte then said, grinning at her from underneath Peter's arm, as if they had known each other for the longest time and had just been separated for a month or so. "How are you? How's being with Major here and tell me how you met. If you're comfortable with that." The blonde said, putting her hand out in one of those gestures that suggested she liked to wave her hands about as she talked. Well, when her other hand wasn't tucked into her mate's back pocket.

Erin took a look up at Jasper before letting a small smile appear on her face. "How 'bout I tell you in the family room? Humans can't stand against a blocky piece of marble-" She prodded his side. "-all day."

Charlotte looked ecstatic and followed her over to the family room, watching the human girl like she were an animal in the zoo.

The way she walked, more like strode or perhaps swaggered, into the glass-walled family room, where Edward was sitting prominently in the middle of the couch. He didn't pull his whole bull crap Chicago-gentlemen schtick as he had done with the Denali clan. Instead, his graciously bowed his head and greeted the nomad kindly. Still too much, but it was so unusual for him not to use this as an opportunity to show off his classy manners that it was actually straight out bizarre.

So Erin walked over and kicked his leg with the point of her shoe, straight-faced. "Move it or lose it, stalker-Grandpa."

The red-eyed vampire behind her gave a snort of amusement, smacking her hand over her mouth, sounding just like it would if you threw a huge rock at a mountain side.

Edward turned his amber eyes to his sister, giving her a dry look. "Is that how you speak when we have company?" He asked her, raising up his big eyebrows expectantly. _Obviously_ , she thought with a raised brow of her own. He made a sour face before scooting to the side, so Erin and Charlotte could sit down, though the nomad took to the little armchair next to the couch rather than right next to her. The dark-haired girl leaned back, stretching her legs out in front of her while the blonde sat stiffly like a pet rock, bright red orbs practiced intently at the little human.

"How are you Edward?" Charlotte then asked him nicely, turning away from Erin politely, since she wasn't exactly used to other vampires.

The only human snorted derisively and Edward jerked towards her suddenly, making her flinch.

"Prick." She hissed, which he thoroughly ignored.

"I'm content, Charlotte." He told her with a handsome nod of his chin and a brief grin in her direction. Friendly, but not all that welcoming. It made the skin on Erin's arms stand up uncomfortably and she rubbed over them briskly for a moment. Jasper and Peter both came through the door, both speaking quietly at a vampiric level. The tall blonde moved to stand behind her, placing his hand over the crook of her neck, right where her pulse flowed. He knew she was feeling something strange from their brother, whom he was still blatantly pretending didn't exist, and had come to be with her like the big cat he was.

"So, how long has this been happening?" Charlotte gestured between the two of them. Erin just shrugged before looking up at Jasper for the answer.

"Six months." He answered her, a bit stiffer than he had when they were in the entry hall. Edward let out a high-pitched huff next to her. It was from Jazz's thoughts, she knew it was. So she reached behind her and left a smack to her mate's very solid hip. Those two weren't going to give up on this, were they? Fucking dicks, they were acting like middle-aged women after they find out their neighbor is buying store-brand detergent.

"And you've been living together since then?" She inquired casually, placing her hand on Peter's when his stony paw rested up on the arm of the seat she was in.

"For the most part." Jasper answered as Erin watched as her brother got even more twitchy. Vampires must be susceptible to fleas of some kind, because that's the only reason he should be considering leaving. Peter and Charlotte both noticed the way Edward's mood had changed and he began to, very quickly so Erin could not see, moving his leg.

 _If this is a Swan thing I swear to fucking god, Nerdward._ She thought angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Please, if you would excuse me. Peter, Charlotte." Edward said, standing up smoothly and rolling his sleeves up his arms. Erin shot off like a light, getting up and following after him, leaving the two nomads behind looking surprised at her sudden movement.

"You're not doing this!" Erin whisper-yelled at him, not that it mattered to keep her voice down in a condo full of vampires.

"Doing what?" He said back, his voice only thinly veiling the annoyance he was feeling. Edward understood his sister's feelings on the 'Bella situation'. She thought he was becoming obsession, out of control, unnecessarily being a freakishly scary dick-hole, who was trying to test his luck. But then, he could read her mind couldn't he? Of course he understood her. But she didn't have a clue about why he cared so much for this delicate, white-skinned human girl with the delicious smelling blood and the magnetism that she had for dangerously sharp objects and frozen patches of rainwater. And he was alright with knowing that she, or even his entire family, could never understand his feelings about this. Even he didn't know why he enjoyed the girl's presence so much, after she had almost singularly ruined his entire life, which had just started to get a little bit brighter.

He thought it was fate, or maybe even God, taunting him with a precious thing, hoping that he'd break and kill it. But Edward, no, he was going to prove fate wrong. He would be selfish, he would follow this girl and keep her safe from what wished ailments to her. And then, he would prove to God that he was not a monster, truly.

She bit the inside of her cheek, unaware of her brother's more deep levels of obsession that ran through his mind, feeling her face turn scarlet with frustrated anger and outrage. Erin felt like tearing her damn hair out, she just couldn't deal with this bullshit any longer.

"You know what? Fine, fucking fine! Go stalk that poor girl, see if I give a shit!" She began to shout, thrusting her arms in the air, and making short paces this way and that in the middle of the hallway. "Hell, I _invite_ you, Dracula, to crawl underneath her bed at night, if you don't ALREADY do that, and just fucking lay there. Go on! Pretend that you wouldn't kill her if she was on the rag without a tampon. Go through these delusions, break her fathers heart! I don't even **care**!" Erin ended her rant with a swift kick to the drywall, feeling like she'd fractured several toes.

Edward only paused a moment before leaving her there. And it was only after he was gone that Jasper had come to her side.

* * *

 **I know it's short, but it's an update right?**


	38. Chapter 38

**I'm doing so much things, also from now on there will be changes to canon!**

 **Oh and a note to you guys, this is _NOT_ a Bella-hate story. Granted, i'm not fond of the lifeless mannequin that Meyers came up with, this is not that Bella. I'm making her my own in this story, giving her some actual personality based off of some of the deleted scenes from the movie (rain stick full of chinchilla droppings, etc), and what little of a layout she was given. Sure, Erin doesn't like her right now, but that's because Edward is being a total scary freak about her (and it'll only get worse from here on, btw)**

 **So, yeah. NO Bella-hate here. Just Meyers-hate for not giving her any actual personality when she had the chance.**

* * *

 **Book 1: Twilight**

 **Late April, Saturday, 2005**

 ** _Edward in Obsession_**

* * *

Peter and Charlotte both had smartly decided not to mention Edward after he had left.

Erin felt a bit of guilt for bursting out and going after Edward when the two of them were there. It wasn't their fault that the mind-reader had turned into a scary freak. She knew that he thought that Bella was a death-magnet, but that was no excuse to go stalking the girl. He'd already gotten her to help him in his creepy escapades, did he really need to continue this crap? Her hazel gaze turned to Jasper, who sat stoically next to her as Charlotte told him about their brief excursion to the coast of Mexico, which they both had enjoyed very much, and they had apparently seen a jackolope running about on their way there. He was like a brick wall, she could throw everything she had at him and he would remain standing.

Jasper showed his two comrades to their room, draped in tropical attire, without her. Erin was thankful that he knew that she didn't want to entertain, and that his two friends would understand. They'd have plenty of time to get along during their visit. With only a little guilt, Erin continued to sit alone, silently thinking with her arms crossed under her bosom, her thoughts for the first time safe from any mind-readers keeping an ear out. She'd have to ask Carlisle to make sure her toes weren't broken from making that hole in the wall. She had a definite distaste for casts.

After one Grey's Anatomy and three quarters of a Buffy, Carlisle came home from his shift.

When the oldest vampire in the coven walked in through the living room and saw his youngest daughter sitting stock-still on the sofa, glaring at a spot on the wall like it had insulted her to the highest degree two years ago, with her arms crossed over her torso, he knew something was upsetting her. Then again, something was almost always upsetting Erin in some way. She was very young in that sense, still acting very much like a teenage girl, unlike how his other daughters behaved.

He smiled fondly and put down his bag, folding his coat over his arm before sitting down next to her. Her only response to his entrance was to look up at him briefly, before turning back to the wall.

Carlisle sat with her quietly for a few minutes, holding his coat on his lap neatly, believing that if Erin wanted more than just a silent support then she would request it from him. The original Cullen knew Erin's plight concerning Edward's (perhaps not truly _minor_ ) infatuation with Isabella Swan. And her worry wasn't completely unfounded. Jasper had confided in him, without his mate's knowledge, about what he was sensing from Edward. The growth of obsession and insanity. His technically youngest son hadn't wanted to put any more strain on his mate, knowing how much she loved Edward. Jasper believed that if he had told her what was actually happening to their brother, she would try to stop Edward from seeing the Swan girl completely.

And in doing so, Edward would injure her in order to get to his singer.

Carlisle wanted to soothe his families strains. Right when it felt like his family was it's most complete, another screwball was sent their way. He was expecting the worst and hoping for the very best. Isabella Swan dead, and his entire family uprooted. Or Isabella Swan alive, and his world still intact. His son still intact.

He feared for Edward. For Erin, for Jasper.

Carlisle reached out and put his hand over Erin's wrist. He could hear the blood, inside of her right shoe, swelling there, and he knew that she must have caused the dent in the hallway's wall. If it were Edward, the entire wall would have been knocked down.

"Let me see your foot." He said.

/~/

Edward was in Port Angeles in only an hour, having broken several speeding laws on the way there. He'd likely get the tickets in the mail in the next two weeks or so. _Petty change_ , he thought blandly as he pulled into a 15 minute parking place. Another ticket. He'd be here much longer than that time. They could _tow_ his car, and he wouldn't care. He'd run back to Forks, no one would see him. It was now 4:30, and the sun was just beginning to set, causing more shadows over the town. If they towed his car, he'd just be a shadow.

He stalked the streets of Port Angeles, knowing exactly where to go. There was only one place to his hands stuffed nonchalantly into his coat pockets as his eyes darted this way and that under his dark sunglasses. He had taken them from Erin's stinky old car. He felt more at ease with them covering his eyes, in case he caught Bella's scent and reacted too negatively. He felt gorged to the point of feeling like he was going to be sick, though he knew he wouldn't be. It was uncomfortable and he picked up his walking pace a tad, raiding through the minds around him, looking for Bella's face, or even just Jessica or Angela. They were out together this late afternoon.

There! He found them, in a dress store, trying on gowns. He focused on Jessica―her thoughts were easy to find, her thoughts were always so loud―listening as the young women spoke. Bella seemed to be fuming as Jessica turned and observed herself in the three mirrors in the room. Her thoughts turned sour quickly, smiling at Bella with a false warmth as her eyes were full of suspicion.

He wanted to rip out her throat with his hand, so that none of her disgusting blood would be in his system.

Instead, he turned his attention to Angela's mind. Weber was a kind girl. Shy, sure, but she was genuinely nice and thought of Bella sweetly. Edward ignored that she was changing, instead focusing on the conversation she was listening to from instead of the dressing room. It was chatter, really. Nothing truly substantial, but he listened to it hungrily, watching through Jessica and Angela's eyes at Bella. The girls moved to the section of the department store where accessories and shoes were held, and for a moment he blanked out, seeing through Angela's eyes a bright, ugly pair of mary-jane high heels in a terrible pumpkin-orange color. He considered buying them, but couldn't quite place the reason why.

He saw Bella again.

" _Angela?_ " He heard her ask. Angela only just looked up at her. She was putting on a pair of light pink strapped heels. _I'm so glad Eric is so tall, I can't wait to wear heels for once_. She was thinking.

" _Yes?_ " She twisted her ankle, admiring the way the shoes looked, and despairing over how tight and painful they'd be after dancing for a few hours.

" _...I―like those_." Bella said in a hesitant tone of voice.

" _I think I'll get them―though they'll never match anything but the one dress._ " Angela said back to her. _Maybe my white dress could go with them... It's so short though, Dad would never let me wear it out._

Her father was the type to restrict his daughter's clothing choices. He always looked rather nervous when Erin would walk into his home dressed in clothes that showed her stomach and cleavage (and he didn't disagree with him), he was always hoping that Angela wouldn't start to copy Erin's style choices and begin dressing the same way.

" _Oh go ahead―they're on sale anyway._ " Bella encouraged her with a half-smile, grasping onto the ends of her sleeves and pulling on them with her fingers. A nervous tic? Or a history of cow milking? Angela smiled back at her, mentally thanking the other girl for solidifying her decision, putting them back and covering the lid on them.

The very pale girl took a breath and sat down next to Angela on the bench. " _Um, Angela?_ " _Hmm?_ Angela thought, looking up curiously.

" _Is it really normal for the... Uh, well the **Cullens** to just disappear out of school a lot?_ " His interest was incredibly peaked and he listened intently for Angela's response to Bella's question. _The Cullens?_ Miss Weber thought, confused. A few flashes of his family came through her mind, including one of Erin, who was sitting in her living room, her arms crossed over her shoulders and her leg thrown over the other, a sour, upset expression on her face.

" _Oh. Yeah, it is. Even their Dad, the doctor leaves work whenever the weather is really nice. They all, well, I_ **think** _all of them go out and hike and camp up in the mountains. At least, that's what they tell the office."_

" _You think? You don't really know?_ " Bella inquired.

" _Not really. Erin, their sister, used to come to my house. My Dad, he helps with the church y'know, and he has a gathering every Sunday. My Dad asked her how her last camping trip was one day and she just kind of shrugged and said to watch out for mosquitos._ " Angela said quietly, looking up and seeing Jessica still looking at rhinestone jewelry, away from them. She didn't want Jessica to know about this. Bella, she thought wouldn't look into it too much. But Jessica, after she and her Mother visited the Cullens after Doctor Oakes left, still had something against the newest Cullen. Jessica had gone into a spree about it over the phone with her. " _I don't think she really goes camping with them. But they still take her out of school anyway._ "

" _That's strange..._ " Bella murmured.

Angela shrugged.

Jessica came over to them, her thoughts loud enough to distract him from Bella's face.

They were going to go eat at a restaurant nearby, and Edward considered by chance picking the same restaurant as they. He thought of inviting Alice, his hand hovering over his cellphone in his pocket. She'd absolutely love that, but she'd also want to approach Bella. Talk to her. He didn't want to drag Bella further into his world. She was already one of two humans who knew about him. He was afraid the deeper she came into the dark, the more it would stain her. It was important that Bella Swan remained clean.

" _Maybe I should take the necklace back. I've got one at home that would probably work, and I spent more than I was supposed to..._ " _My Mom is going to freak out. What was I thinking?_

He listened to the sound of Jessica's voice, focusing back on the girls.

" _Well, I don't mind going back to the store. But, do you think Bella will start looking for us if we're late?_ " Angela said. Bella was gone? She wasn't there with them? When had they separated? He looked through Jessica's eyes, and then switched over the Angela's, seeing only the sidewalk they were on, and the faces of stores they were passing as they walked.

 _Oh who give a flying fuck about Bella!_ Jessica thought impatiently, making his fury soar. He'd get something over Jessica Stanley. It wouldn't be difficult, he knows her every thought.

/~/

Erin winced, clasping onto the arm of the sofa as she sat down. Carlisle had numbed her foot so that he could inspect her toes, and now in her leg's sleep, her every movement sent pins and needles up and down her limb. Her toes weren't broken, thankfully. Only sprained, so he had wrapped them with a small support of tin when she refused to go to the hospital for a proper one.

Charlotte smiled, unmoving. "Do you do this often?" She asked.

Emmett snorted, his big body rumbling with his merriment. "You have _no_ idea."

"Ha. Eat me." Erin snapped, slapping her back against the cushion behind her, hitting her fist down roughly next to her. Her snap only made her cat-eyed brother laugh harder, it's booming echo going through the whole house. If it were any higher, perhaps it would have broken one of Esme's beautiful windows. Rosalie bumped against her husband walking in, carrying a gel-blue ice pack that was wrapped in one of the expensive creme-colored kitchen towels. It was embroidered with a golden 'C'.

"Here, you'll want this for when the numb feeling stops." She informed Erin, placing the gel-pack on the coffee table for her.

"Thanks Rose." Erin thanked her, leaning back heavily into the sofa behind her. The numb ache made her leg feel so heavy, like it had fishing weights attached to it. Jasper's hand tightened on her waist, sensing her discomfort and hoping to distract her from it. He was hesitant to use his gift on her, after what he had caused. What he could do is comfort her physically, should she desire it.

"It won't bother you too badly during the day." Alice told her, smoothing out her skirt over her knees. "And you'll be able to take it off just in time for soccer try-outs."

Erin sighed and ran her hand upwards through her bangs, catching only on one ring this time. "I dunno if I'm going to audition, Al. The team and field are trash here anyway." She told her as Esme came in, carrying equipment that she had likely just used to repair the hole she made in the wall. The older woman shook her head and pointed her pure-white finger at Erin.

"Oh no you don't. I want to come to one of your games, all of us do, and all it will take to repair that field is an anonymous donation."

"I'd love to play football for an actual team." Emmett declared, a pink grin on his face. Rosalie rolled her eyes and smacked his side. "You'd rip up the field after a minute." She told him matter-of-factly, to which the biggest vampire gave a cheeky, toothy smile.

"Damn right I would, babe."

In their conversation, they didn't quite register that Alice had suddenly stiffened, her eyes glazing over as she stared off at a spot on the wall above Peter's head. The tiniest vampire shot up, like a flame from Erin's lighter.

"Please excuse me everyone." She said blandly before taking out her cellphone and walking to the staircase. At Alice's sudden jump, Erin was now pushing to the edge of her seat, demanding to know if Alice had seen something about Edward. Had he killed Swan? Was she going to help him dispose of a body? When she got up on her numb leg, she bumped into the coffee table and Jasper's arms wrapping around her were the only things keeping her from falling face first onto the carpet and crawling after her prophetic sister.

"Hey!"

Charlotte darted forward, catching Erin's torso. She had tried to slip out of Maj's arms, and she had dropped a few inches.

"I am beginning to think we chose the wrong time to visit." Charlotte said as Jasper pulled Erin back to him.

"We should have told you the minute you walked in the door." Rosalie said, looking back over her shoulder, hearing the engine of one of the cars before the screeching of tires accompanied it. "Something's... _wrong_ with Edward." She informed them gravely.

"Wrong?" asked Peter.

"We're not sure what's happening." Carlisle stepped in. "But we do know that Edward has found his singer, and now... it's led him into a bit of an obsession. We're all concerned, and we were hoping that it wouldn't become a problem during your visit..." He paused, looking pained. He hadn't wanted this to happen, but he knew now he should have expected it. Edward thought that Bella attracted every danger in the known Earth to her and her alone. And with nomads in town, even with nomads he _knew_ and had joked with in the past... He would be on edge.

Peter raised up his chin, his red eyes meeting Jasper's amber.

"Then perhaps we should visit you another time." He suggested, at Maj's approval. Charlotte looked against the idea, until Peter placed his hand on her shoulder, his thumb pressing gently against her skin.

"I'm sorry, but I think that'd be for the best." Carlisle told them, sounding as sorry as he felt.

/~/

"I feel very safe with you." Bella told him.

 _You shouldn't feel safe with me, Bella._ He thought with despair. _I killed someone tonight, Bella. I killed him, I slammed a piece of his skull into his brain, Bella._

That man, Ronnie, deserved his death. He deserved it, and he didn't feel guilty for ending his life. He had just stopped the tears, and the terror of the other victims of this man. The women and children who were afraid that Ronnie would hunt them down and attack them at night again. He'd given them their sanity back with his death.

But he felt guilty for doing it in front of this fragile, delicate creature in front of him who was looking at him with such dark brown eyes that were so trusting that it made him question how she could possibly still survive in this world? How had her life not ended, when she had such backwards, insane instincts? Bella didn't know that he didn't just punch that man, that man who was planning on _raping_ her. She only just saw him fall back after he hit him, before he darted back into the car and swerved into the street, drove them far away from the scene. He heard Alice's mental voice as they drove, her thoughts, and how she assured him she'd get rid of any evidence leading to this being anything other than an 'accident'.

How could he protect this girl, when he was turning into the same thing that he wanted to protect her from?

"This is becoming more complicated than I was expecting..." He muttered. Bella picked up a piece of bread from the basket the waitress had left them, and began to nibble at the end of it. She was turning over what he had said in her head, and he craved to know what she was thinking. Even a whisper, and it would satisfy him.

"Usually you're in a better mood when your eyes are so light." She said casually, picking up the bottle of red wine vinegar at their table and pouring a few drops on the breadstick that she was eating.

Her observation sent him reeling out of his self-deprecating thoughts. "What?"

"You're always crabbier when your eyes are black―that's when I expect it. And, I have a _theory_ about that." Her slight stress on the word suggested her eagerness to discuss the topic. She wanted to know if she was right or not.

"More theories? I do hope that you've been a bit more creative. I might have to contact Marvel if you keep stealing from comic books, Miss Swan." Edward teased her, though he felt a sense of dread deep in his gut, and his throat burned when Bella turned a brilliant red color. Embarrassed at his teasing? Perhaps he should do it more often, when he's more used to the smell of her blood rushing to her face.

"Well, don't call your lawyer. I didn't take this from a comic book. But I didn't come up with it on my own either, so..."

"And?" He prompted her, feeling a tightness in his chest as he watched her. But they were interrupted when the waitress with the dirty mind came and set down Bella's meal. She asked him again if she could get anything for him. He declined, but asked for a refill on the cokes. She hadn't noticed the empty cups.

"You were saying?" Edward tried again, now feeling a bit anxious. If he were human, perhaps he would have shifted in his seat. But then, if he were human, he'd be dying of dementia or something similar by now. Perhaps his grandchildren would have to remind him of the year several times a day.

"I'll―tell you about it in the car..."

Ah, this would be bad.

"If." Oh?

"There are conditions?"

"I have a few questions of course."

To which he would answer with lies. Or would the truth be a better deterrent for her? He'd have to find out soon, it would make his life much easier in the future, he thought. But then, he'd have to follow that up with Alice.

* * *

 **R &R you guys~**


	39. Chapter 39

**Another super late chapter, but i had several ideas on how to continue it and just was like ahhh**

* * *

 **Book 1: Twilight**

 **Late April, 2005**

 ** _Buenas Noches_**

* * *

Erin's fingernails were chipped.

Rosalie's hair was askew.

Jasper was in the corner, his golden curls a mess as his eyes―black with pure fury―glared out at Edward and Carlisle both, who were sitting on the floor, their clothes ripped into shreds with even their shoes (made of fine Italian leather) being made into ribbons.

Alice and Esme were the only ones that were still intact. Mostly.

Emmett―whose shorts were gone and was now walking around in his briefs―had already started to clean the wreckage. The massive vampire was doing so quite slowly, even for a human's pace. There was broken glass everywhere, not just from the windows around the house but as well as the lamps and crystal chandelier that had been hanging from the ceiling in the living room. His lumbering steps around the ruined wooden floor echoed throughout the house as he swept away the glass, crystal and pieces of metal that were littered across the room.

For Erin, breathing in this air which was now incredibly dusty from all of the wreckage. She sneezed, her arm darting up so she could cover her mouth with her sleeve.

"Bless you." "Excuse you." A few of them said.

The silence, though it had broken for a second, returned almost immediately as it began shoving itself down their throats like smog. It was practically tangible. If not for Emmett and the sound of metal and glass scraping against the dented wooden floor, it would have possibly made a few of them sick. If vampires could get sick. There seemed to be, 'What do we do now?' wandering throughout the family. It was a very strong, terrible question, as each of them had a different answer. Rosalie wanted the slaughter the wolves and apparently she was right to desire this. They had given them up. The young grandson of Ephraim Black had told Isa _bella_ Swan about vampires. Specifically mentioned the Cullen family in his story to her. Gone against the treaty.

Emmett would go with whatever his wife desired. He treasured her far more than some human girl's puny life or the lives of a dozen wolves that had betrayed their agreement. He'd assist her in the slaughter if she wished that from him.

Carlisle and Esme were considering taking their family and leaving immediately. They'd leave behind whispers, rumors. But nothing serious, nothing that would ever cling to them on their way.

As far as Jasper was concerned, they might as well be gone already. He was already mentally going through the homes that they had been in throughout North America and Europe that Erin would enjoy. There was a small chateau in France that might catch her eye. It was by the shore, a few miles away from the Italian border on the Mediterranean sea. It was right next to a few small towns, but far enough away that humans would rarely come their way. The town was known for it's warm yet stormy weather. They'd be safe there once she was changed. If she still desired to remain human, there were plenty of cities throughout the world that were warm and cloudy.

There would be no shortage of homes for her to choose from.

Emmett picked up a trash bag from the closet and began to pack the pieces of the home into it. Alice got up from where she was sitting with Esme and began to help him. With two hands, she took one end of the destroyed couch and walked down the stairs with it. That seemed to cause a movement through the rest of them. Each of them stood up and began to clean up the house.

"I'll have to redo the floor." Esme said, her fingers going over the totaled wooden floor. There was an Edward-shaped dent in it and several chunks were taken out.

"Tile this time? Or carpet?" Carlisle asked her as he picked up the ruined chandelier from the floor, the crystals chiming delicately.

The caramel-haired woman shook her head. "I'll have to go over my books. I'll find something, maybe just a stronger wood this time. Redwood is always nice."

"We had redwood lining at my old house in California." Erin spoke as she and Jasper began to sweep away the chunks of foam and all of the white feathers around the place. Some of it stuck to the wall, even.

"Oh? Did it last very long?"

"Yeah, but we didn't have a family of vampires at our place. Just goldfish and a snake."

"I'll have to repaint the walls after they're re-plastered as well..." Esme hummed, holding her elbows as she looked around, envisioning the future designs she could create. Maybe a creme color? Something warmer to go with the beautiful auburn of the redwood. An older style of chandelier too. Iron?

"Iron would be too crude. Your friend Magdalena will probably help you find something better suited." Edward murmured as he piled up the pieces of wood that used to be a bookcase up and stuck them underneath his arm.

"You're absolutely right. I'll call her tomorrow. She's getting on in age and she'll still be asleep right now." She said a little sadly.

Erin tossed a few vase pieces into the trash bag and Emmett whooped at a scale much less grand than his usual jock-like mannerisms. The Cullen family silently continued with cleaning up the rubble that they had created between themselves.

/~/

None of them went to school during the next week.

Carlisle called into his job and informed them that because of a family emergency, he couldn't make it in for work. Esme called her friend Magdalena and began the preparations to change the scheme of the house (because we simply couldn't have TWO woods in one house that didn't even match each other) and Rosalie and Emmett went out to fetch the new furniture that Esme picked out. Edward, Erin and Jasper removed the things from the walls that remained and packed them away to prepare to fix the holes in the walls that steel-like fists had created during the fight.

It was as if the rest of the world had been placed on pause.

Isabella Swan. Who was that? Who cared about that person? She was just some girl to the Cullen family now. Unimportant.

The wolves at the beach? So they had betrayed them to the 'pale faces'. So what? Who'd believe some teenage girl in the modern time they were in? No one normal believed in vampires anymore than they believed that a shark head would pop out of their toilet and bite them in the ass when they sat down to take a piss. The wolves could continue to keep their miserable lives and thank themselves everyday that they were not more vengeful. Even Rosalie and Jasper would not take their fists to their people. They were much too fatigued for such frivolous things.

As far as the Cullen's were concerned, they were now all alone in the world.

"How's this?" Erin asked Esme as she rolled out a large Middle Eastern made carpet. It was deep burgundy with lighter brown accents and over the new, shiny redwood floors it looked warm and inviting. The new fireplace, made of flat, slate rocks stacked up on top of each other with a dark bricked inside looked like the bottom of a pond. The iron grate had yet to be placed there, but surely that was one of the things that Rose and Emmett were out doing.

"It looks nice there, thank you." Esme told her warmly as she observed the decor of the room, taking a step back to further enjoy the surroundings.

"Carlisle going to bring in that painting you bought?" She asked.

Esme shrugged her shoulders and began to place a few trinkets up on top of the mantle that the fireplace made. "He will. It'll take some time to get up to Port Angeles though."

The only human wrinkled her nose, seeing the baby pictures that Esme was placing up on the mantle. "Esme-" She began to protest, but the caramel haired vampire only waved her off nonchalantly.

"I love these pictures dear, and you said I could keep them."

"Well yeah, but Esme-"

"They're cute." She said wistfully as she placed a small, round picture of Erin as a small infant next to one of Edward. It was one of the school photographs that each high school required from each student, with a bland blue backdrop with Edward looking quite unhappy into the camera, like he was all that and a bag of rocks.

"We got all the stuff you wanted!" Emmett declared, carrying in a large burnt orange couch underneath his massive arm and a box in the other. Rosalie, with her long blonde hair skillfully braided in a sporty fashion, held the antique dresser and several lamps still in their boxes. The largest vampire set down the box with delicacy you wouldn't know he possessed before he set down the new couch where Esme dictated. It was nice and likely was unnecessarily expensive. Then again, Esme loved to buy from Mom-Pop shops, so she likely sent their child through a four-year college with only one purchase, let alone all of the things that were on her list.

"Over here, Rose." Esme gestured to the wall which was to be fixed and soon to be covered up by a massive gold-trimmed mirror. Rose did as her adopted mother requested, keeping the dresser as even as possible. It was a warm color, which went along with the rest of the room. It seemed like the huge fight that occurred just a few hours ago was just what Esme, and the family, needed.

"Ed and Jazz'll probably have the hole fixed by the end of the day. It might have to stay put for awhile before we cover it." Rosalie informed them, looking down at her phone, where the texts from Edward were making the device buzz.

"That's wonderful." Esme said brightly, putting her hands on her hips as she looked over at the vampire-shaped hole in the wall with some amusement.

"I think that we forgot lightbulbs, Rose."

/~/

Alice sat on top of the Swan House, not moving an inch incase the humans inside of the building would hear the movement. She was far enough on the house that even those that drove by would not see her, so she felt safe enough there that she didn't even flinch when the sun peaked out for just a few seconds, causing her skin to sparkle and gleam.

The smallest vampire of the Cullen family was thinking. Oh yes, of course, she was watching the future which involved Bella Swan, the human that was inside the house she sat upon, cooking dinner for her father while also vaguely paying attention to the television that played in her living room. She had been the cause of the fight that happened.

Once Edward had stumbled home, Rosalie had known. Just from the expression on Edward's face. Of exhaustion and terror and numbness. Rose had known that her brother had done something awful, something that would affect the entire family. She had watched them in her head during her vision, as she reached out and attacked him with her words.

When he croaked out his answers, she attacked him with her fists.

Carlisle tried to stop her. Jasper was protecting Erin. Emmett was protecting Rosalie. Edward was taking it.

All Alice could do was watch in horror and surprise as she carried the bodies of the rapists into the next state with Esme, who had to take over driving when her daughter had suddenly stopped moving, staring blankly ahead with her mouth gaped open. They'd narrowly missed hitting a fire hydrant, and HAD hit several orange traffic cones. Rosalie had thrown Edward down onto the floor, destroying it completely. That was when Emmett had decided that Edward had been 'punished' effectively and tried to pull his wife away from his brother. She'd struggled so much that his clothes had been sufficiently shredded by her. Then, she'd grabbed Edward by the hair and pushed him into the wall. That was when Jasper got into it, when the white material hit her right in the head.

Alice was glad she hadn't been apart of the fight.

As she now sat silently on the Swan house, she was happy not to be involved in remodeling the room they had destroyed. At least now Edward and Jasper were getting along. Rosalie had stopped her plans of ripping apart Bella and the Reservation both. True, Esme and Carlisle were now planning on taking them all and leaving (if they did, they'd end up moving to Russia or Estonia) and Jasper was quite on board with that, since he was currently planning on taking Erin to France or Spain. His future and Erin's both were flipping here and there, from country house to country house that they had previously lived in.

The only person keeping them from leaving peacefully was Edward.

He wasn't willing to separate himself from Bella, and she herself wasn't all that fond of that either. She knew she was going to love Bella. And when she peered into her future, she still saw her with red eyes, with her arm around her waist and smiles on their faces. But how was she to become that when the majority of the family was planning on leaving the state as quickly as possible?

She listened, and heard Bella, living and breathing human Bella, tell her Father that dinner was ready.

Alice huffed and slumped her shoulders down, grasping at her hair in frustration. The future was so annoying sometimes. It wouldn't tell her the parts that she most wanted to know. Like how things would happen, so she'd know what to look out for. It was always just the end result.

"Fuck the future." She murmured quietly, letting her gold eyes dart back to the phone in her hands. The last text that Jasper sent her was that she could come back to the house, that the floors were finished. But now, as the sun began to set, hours since that text was sent, she still had not returned. She was likely worrying them by not coming back. But Alice just wanted to linger here, with Bella, despite her not knowing she was there.

She wasn't avoiding her family.

She wanted to know what was going _on._

 _/~/_

"Eating alone's never gonna get old." Erin said as Jasper sliced an onion far quicker than any human chef could. He smiled at her quip and raised a dark blonde eyebrow at her as he placed them in the hot pan.

"You won't eat alone forever. When you're changed, I'll always go with you during hunts." He told her, realizing that the topic of her future vampirism made her uncomfortable, but still speaking of it so she'd at least attempt to get used to the idea of it. She agreed to be with him forever, and while she wouldn't be turned soon in her time, it would be like a passing moment for Jasper.

"Right. Hunts." She said briefly, resting her elbows heavily on the kitchen island.

"It's not as gross as you no doubt think it is. I promise." He swore, flipping the onions in the pan. The rice and the chicken in the oven were still cooking (not fast enough in his opinion) so her dinner would be served a little later than he wanted. Eric didn't look concerned with that topic, her face still clearly displayed her thoughts as if she was speaking outloud.

"I recommend the bears." Emmett said with a boyish smile. "Join me in my vendetta against the rabid beasts." He then chortled in a way that was supposed to be frightening, but only really sounded like the Count on Sesame street.

"I'm not eating Yogi or Smokey, asshat. Feel free to save me a head though." Erin quipped, amused by her own visual about forest fires.

"That's disgusting." Edward commented from the other room, where he was hanging the new chandelier for Esme.

"You brought that on yourself."

"Enough of that you two. Erin, you have homework to do." Carlisle ordered, though it was kind sounding.

The only human rolled her eyes. "Carlisle-" She started, a whine in her voice.

"Now. Please, you're already behind." He cut her off quickly, an eyebrow raised at his youngest daughter. She sighed and made quite a spectacle of pushing herself off the kitchen stool and up the stairs to retrieve her bookbag. He chuckled fondly before pushing her stool back in.

* * *

 **its short, I know, but it was already so laaaaate**

 **R &r**


	40. Chapter 40

**gotten so many followers/favorites on this it's crazy**

* * *

 **Book 1: Twilight**

 **April 31st, 2005**

 ** _Avoiding Her Has Proven Difficult_**

* * *

Her sprained toes were no longer a hindrance, right in time for try-outs, like Alice said.

Erin wasn't the fondest of wearing shorts in the cold, Forks weather (the other girls who were trying out relished in seeing their pale legs in long socks and cleats) but it was required, or so said the spring sports dress code. ' _Bullshit,_ ' she thought as she bounced a soccer ball on the top of her foot. The field still had the occasional daisy poking out of it, but it looked much better than it had a few months ago. It had been a few years since she played soccer, so she definitely wasn't the best on the field, but it took only a few hours to get back into the swing of things. Like riding a bike, you never forgot it.

"Cullen, you're next." The Coach called for her, holding her clipboard ready to judge her performance. That _mysterious_ donation got them a teacher to volunteer as soccer coach. She was older than the Gym teacher, black, with short natural hair like a buzz-cut, and she was exceptionally fit. She was one of the Geometry teachers, the mainstream one, so Erin had never met her before.

"Yes Ma'am!" She returned, respectfully, dropping the ball, holding it still a minute by putting her shoe on top of it.

Then she kicked, ran it through the course, knocking over one of the bright orange cones at the beginning. Erin was fast though, darting here and there, the cold wind hitting her face sharply. Sweat broke at the end of the long row as the cones got closer together. Then she turned to where the blonde Lauren would be trying to take the ball out of her control. Erin smiled toothily at her, kicked the ball, then bounced it up from the top of her foot, throwing most of her body weight up and rushing the ball into the net. Lauren cursed, but scoffed at the sight of her in the grass.

Erin would have shot a smart-ass retort to her, but the sound of girlish cheering interrupted her thought process.

"Holy shit." Lauren whispered incredulously from behind her.

"What?"

"Bella." Lauren said, gesturing with her chin toward the girl.

It was Bella, Isabella Swan, sitting at the bleachers and waving her arms, shouting, ' _way to go!_ ' and ' _that was so kickass!_ ' with Alice of all people. Damn, that girl had even brought makeshift pom-poms that had been appropriately forgotten about in favor of her jazz-hands. Edward was sitting behind Alice with Jasper, with Rosalie and Emmett farther away from them, right down at the fence.

"Oh Christ." Erin rolled her head along with her eyes and fell back into the cold grass for barely a minute before the Coach told her to get off the field.

"What, are you sleeping with her too?" Lauren asked snidely.

/~/

"You're gonna get in." Alice assured her as they were walking into lunch. "That stumble at the beginning was nothing. Cross my heart."

Erin got in the lunch line. "What heart?" She asked dryly, grabbing a serving of pilaf and a muffin. "What were you doing with Swan, anyway Alice? I thought we all agreed to keep away from her..."

The slighter girl stiffened slightly. "Edward agreed to keep away from her."

"Alice—" She began, only to get shushed. Orange juice was put on her tray, then the two of them paid for their lunches.

"Erin, I know you want to keep Bella out of our world... But you don't understand, I-I've seen her. As one of us. That sight hasn't changed since that day Edward kept from killing her. Besides, I really like her Erin. She's my friend." Alice whispered to her, almost unheard. But Erin was stiff, protective, fearful about what Alice was saying. How she was acting. "Please, I just want to be her friend. I know Edward has to keep away from her, I'm not disputing that. But at least... I've never had a friend like her before." Alice's emotion showed through that, and Erin felt a bit of guilt. She didn't like the way Alice looked at her like that, like she used to hope that _they_ could have been friends the way she and Bella could be. Bella and Alice were natural together, they didn't have a lot in common, but they _clicked_. It was easy for the two of them, like it was easy for Erin and Edward to be friends.

"She asks about him sometimes, doesn't she?" Erin asked, a bit plain, a bit hurt.

Alice nodded solemnly. "She's swept away by him." But she smiled.

"Maybe he'll get over it if he gets used to her being around."

The other girl shrugged and told her that she couldn't see that yet.

The boy in question had yet to arrive, which could only mean that he had run into Bella on his way there. There was no other reason for him to be late, after all. Erin's feelings on the matter were simmering, since they had all already gotten out all of their anger, disappointment and fears out in their tussle. Bella Swan still was a waste of time for the rest of the Cullens. Better to leave it alone now, what with the girl's inkling suspicions about the family. _There_ , Erin thought when she saw Edward and Bella walk in together. _Knew it. Don't bring her over here Ed, Rosalie will ruin her. Fuck, I might ruin her._ Bella there, cheering her at soccer tryouts. That slut Lauren's face, looking at her with that gross look of 'aha', like she'd figured something out.

Edward shot her a look, one that was brief and stiff, what with being so close to Bella. It pained him, and Jasper couldn't offer him very much relief with the burning in his throat.

Erin looked away from her brother and back at her lunch plate, beginning to open the plastic to the container. It was really damn stuck on there.

Emmett snorted at the look on her face as she tried to dig her fingers inside of it, even touching the seasoned pilaf with her fingers in her attempt to open it.

"I believe in you," drawled Jasper, sounding extremely amused.

"Ouch, shit!" The plastic ripped and sliced through her finger, clanking against her silver ring and bouncing backwards, getting pilaf all over her lunch plate and the table. Her finger _stung_ , thanks to the seasoning. Erin shoved her finger into her mouth quickly, trying to get the salt and oregano out of her cut, not thinking about her family and how, oh yeah, they were fucking _vampires._ The table was dead silent, compared to the energetic chatter of the room around them. They were the one television on mute in a movie theater.

The only human at the table glanced up, to Alice, Rose and Emmett, then next to her at Jasper.

He was stiff. Like a statue. Mate or not, fresh human blood _distracted_ him.

"Jasper." She breathed, feeling guilty for bleeding, which was stupid to her mind, but she couldn't help feeling bad. His dark circles were heavy now, and his muscles were stiff and protruding as his fists tightened.

Her finger was still bleeding.

"Erin?" Fuck you Bella, fuck you Bella, fuck you Bella. Erin chanted angrily in her mind at the sound of that girl's voice. "You're bleeding." She whispered.

"Go away Bella."

"No. We have to go to the nurse, you—you're bleeding all over the place."

Erin almost snarled at her.

But even Rosalie looked uncomfortable right now as she stared at the blood dripping from her sisters finger, onto the white table. So she swallowed heavily and stood, a spike of emotional pain going through her chest when Jasper flinched at her movement. Bella wrapped a blue glove around her bleeding finger, since even she looked pale at the sight of blood and encouraged her to hold onto it. She did. The taller girl tried to lead her to the nurse with an arm around her back, but the black haired girl shook her arm away almost violently, striding towards the nurse's station herself. The other human, with her longer legs, caught up easily.

A thousand thoughts and worries were racking through her brain. Was Jasper okay? He was shaking when she left. She didn't think that her blood would bother him, it didn't when they were together. He always looked perfectly at ease and comfortable. She was unappetizing as a meal to him, so why did he look like that? He'd flinched.

Bella stared at the smaller girl, watching as the emotions went across her face. Sadness, guilt, horror, worry. Over and over again, those same emotions. I want to help you, she thought longingly. But she wasn't stupid enough to try and touch her again. The youngest Cullen didn't get upset when her sisters or brothers touched her. She didn't shake them off or say mean things to them. If _she_ tried to touch her, she'd lash out.

The plainer of the two could only quietly follow her into the nurse's office and sit beside her in the shitty chairs that were offered to them. Erin had disposed of the blood soaked glove outside somewhere, since it was now missing and she was instead holding the cotton that she was offered against her finger.

"Miss Swan." The nurse called, getting the brunette's attention.

"Yes?"

"Can you come here please. You can just relax Miss Oakes, it'll be just a second." The nurse advised, getting Erin to slump back down into her chair, holding the soaked cotton against her more firmly.

"Miss Swan, this is an excused absence pass." The woman whispered to her as she began writing on some kind of slip, signing it and handing it to her. Bella took it, furrowing her brows with confusion. "That's for you. I would like you to take your friend there to the hospital. You don't have to stay there if you don't want to—" She pointed her dark finger to the excused slip. "That's for your teacher and I made a note of it in the system, so you won't be marked today, alright?" She asked kindly. Bella didn't know what else to do, so she folded up the slip and stuffed it into her pocket.

"What about Erin?" She asked gingerly. She was extremely aware of the feeling of eyes on her back, burning her.

"I've called her guardian. Her Father works in the hospital, I couldn't get a hold of him but Mrs. Cullen will come pick her up after she's gotten her stitches."

Instantly she was alarmed, and she became stiff and straightened her back. "I'll stay with her."

The nurse nodded. "Of course. You go ahead then, I'll tell her family here."

Bella nodded absentmindedly and stepped back, going back to Erin's side. "She says I have to take you to the hospital," She murmured quietly, picking up her backpack from the ground. "But—I know your Dad, he's a doctor, right? I think it would be better if you called him and told him, so you don't have to have him worry about you. She couldn't get a hold of him from the office." She was very quiet, and she searched her features, looking for gratitude or annoyance for the nurse or her wound or something. But she only frowned deeper and stood up.

"Fine then."

/~/

Carlisle was too swamped to help his daughter himself.

He'd gotten three phone calls, from the school, Edward, and Erin, all telling him the same thing. A small wound on her hand, needing nothing more than some painkillers and at most 4 stitches. The school wasn't allowed to give students stitches. Erin was probably thankful that they hadn't called a paramedic for something so small. Jasper might be peeved at him for letting a doctor other than himself give his mate stitches, but he had complete confidence in him. He was fairly new, with only a year working in that hospital. But he showed promise for his work.

Isabella Swan refused to leave his girl's side the whole time, insisting that she didn't want her to feel all alone with someone she didn't know. She was protective over Erin, watching the new doctor like a hawk, making the man uncomfortable. Though he regretted not doing it himself, he was pleased that she had someone to sit by her when the rest of his family could not. The blood hung too heavily in the air of the emergency room for Jasper to join her. He probably wasn't far behind her, he wouldn't be surprised if Jasper was already in the hospital.

"Do you want anything from the vending machine?" Isabella muttered with concern to Erin as she watched Jason begin the final stitch on her finger. She liked snacks a lot, she knew that. Edward went on a brief tangent about her ' _disgusting eating habits_ ' and how she got sauce ' _bloody fucking everywhere'_ which was the first time he'd ever cursed in front of her.

Erin hummed, not looking up from the Doctor's work. Bella couldn't even glance at what he was doing, the smell of the blood was bad enough. Looking at a needle go through skin would definitely make her throw up. "Some chips I guess. Gatorade if they have it."

"What flavor?"

"The blue one." She said.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Bella murmured gently before quietly ducking out of the room, knocking her shoulder against a passing nurse.

Erin scoffed at the sound of the other girl's stuttering apologies to the nurse she ran into. She just got at least 3.8% more awkward today. Great. Brilliant.

"I'm almost done here." The Doctor told her. She said her thanks when he tied her off, cleaned her finger and then wrapped her up in some gauze. He disposed of the materials that were tainted with her blood and put the needle in a 'hazardous material' box. "You can go ahead and sit tight while I get some paperwork ready. Your guardian has come to pick you up, hasn't she?" He asked. When he turned, he looked startled to see that she was looking at him right in the eyes, like she was committing his face to memory.

Then, she recovered, glancing away. "Yeah, she has. I don't know where she is though, I think she might be out in the waiting room. But Carlisle, my uh, _Dad_ , is here, so he might beat her to the punchline."

"That's right," He remembered, a clenching feeling now in his gut. Shit, he was giving _Carlisle Cullen's_ daughter _stitches_? "You're Carlisle's kid. He's a good doctor, I'm sorry he had too many appointments to take care of you himself."

The girl shrugged carelessly, leaning back on the crinkly paper that she was on. "Busy is busy."

Jason swallowed dryly and nodded, giving her a weak little smile before leaving the room and Erin alone inside.

/~/

Bella wanted to scream at this stupid machine. Didn't it know that she needed Lays, not air? She even began to shake it, trying to get it to fall down from it's ring, to no avail. At least, until a pale, cold hand went out and smacked against the plastic window, making it fall like it had just been threatened.

She did feel a hot strike of fear, because that hand, it came out of nowhere.

It was soothed quickly when she saw that she recognized who it was connected to. Jasper Hale. Erin's boyfriend. Edward's brother.

He was taller than she was, but that didn't frighten her as much as the black eyes that he had just then. On top of that, he looked scared and pained. Bella wasn't that used to the look on his face, so it surprised her. _God, he's intense_ , she thought, beginning to get flustered as she quickly turned away from him to fetch the snack from the machine. She'd already gotten a blue Powerade from the machine next to it, and a few bags of candy that she liked. "Hey," Bella finally said to him, trying not to look at him too inquisitively. "Jasper, right?" She tried to reaffirm.

He stared at her, nodding briefly once. "And you're Bella, I know." He rumbled. His voice wasn't as deep as Edward's, but it was still attractive and masculine. It had a southern tint to it, like he used to live somewhere near Houston rather than in Georgia. It was a familiar sound, having lived in Arizona. Texans were usually coming in and out of Phoenix. Jasper looked concerned again as he looked at the snacks in her arms. He smiled fondly at them. "Is she alright?"

It took a second for her to react to his question, she was so taken aback by that soft, warm honey look in his otherwise pained face. "Yeah, oh yeah she's fine. She was almost finished getting her stitches by the time I left to get these. Uh—Your Aunt, right, Mrs. Cullen, she's here to sign her out?" She didn't believe for a second that they were all related. Playing along didn't hurt anyone though.

The blond boy nodded. "She's in the waiting room. Does the Doctor need her signature?"

"Yeah, just a few forms he said."

"I'll go and tell her."

Bella reacted and grabbed him by the sleeve, trying to stop him. "Wait, no. Don't. Here, take these, she's down the hall, in the fourth room on the left side. She'd rather see you than me anyway," She joked, handing him the two snacks that Erin wanted. "You said your Aunt's in the waiting room, right? I can go tell her. I met after Erin's soccer try-outs, I'll know who to look for." The brunette girl smiled at Jasper, giving him an exaggerated 'snap-and-point' with her hands before quickly making her exit out of the AC controlled hallway.

"Thank you, Bella." Jasper said to her. Bella then smacked her kneecap against the slow moving door, cursed, flushed red, waved and nearly limped away to find Esme. Perhaps he shouldn't have said anything to her that late, she was prone to injury...

He didn't think too much on that anymore, right now, the Major wanted his girl, and he wanted her now. She of course was perfectly fine, but with Carlisle not acting as her Doctor, she could feel uneasy. Food was always something that would soothe the worries and heartbreak from her eyes, and he appreciated the feeling of camaraderie that he felt from Bella. She liked Erin, but acted weird around her, like she was someone she knew. Bella Swan had no sisters, but everyone knew how her Mother had left Forks. Erin was similar to Renee then. Flakey, excitable, passionate, stubborn. Bella treated her like she treated her Mother.

Unusual, but altogether not harmful for Erin.

He hoped Bella wasn't going to set herself up for pain though. She seemed like an alright kid.

If only he didn't have to kill her should Edward tell her the truth and put their whole family at risk. Oh well, he couldn't afford to think about that.

The hospital smelt more like heavy cleansers rather than blood. Major wasn't really paying attention to their next meal though, he was worried about his mate's mental care. He felt her guilt and terror for him in the cafeteria, and he wanted her to know that he was alright. He couldn't stand the thought of her being in pain for him. It sent his gut into wrenching knots.

He knocked first before coming in.

Her smile made all of the knots dissipate instantly. Her whirlwind of feeling taking him in like the ocean tide.

/~/

Esme signed her out as she was finishing off the rest of her snack. Bella was standing on the other side of her, on her left, while Jasper kept his arm around her waist comfortably on her right side.

Jasper and Bella were talking about something, about Bella going back to school, how she was willing to take him back if he wanted to pick up Erin's car and some of his family to go home. _Alice has my bag I bet, along with my keys, so she could take the car back up to the house_ , Erin thought, moving her numb hand a bit, trying to get some feeling back into it. It wouldn't budge though. The Doc said it'd be back to normal in another hour or so, and to take nothing stronger than over-the-counter pain meds if she really needed it. She was all set for class tomorrow morning.

Erin was watching Bella and Jasper out of the corner of her eyes.

It was only a few weeks ago that she had to argue with Jasper about him not going into her house in the middle of the night and executing her like a cold axe-murderer. And yet now they were talking casually, like he wasn't prepared to end her at a moment's notice.

 _You guys are bizarre as all hell_ , she thought, shaking her hand out.

"Carlisle has a moment off." Esme suddenly told her, moving a tad too fast for her liking. "He wants to see how your Doctor did." She explained softly.

"He was nervous and sweaty." Erin divulged plainly. "But he had steady hands."

Bella chortled shortly. "That's because you were staring at him while he worked."

"Where else was I supposed to look, he was putting a needle through my skin!"

"I don't know, at me?"

"Why would I look at you Bella, when there is someone sewing my flesh back together?"

The taller girl nearly gagged at her wording, reaching to grasp for her throat. "Eugh, don't say it like that!"

"All ' _Night of'_ in there." Erin grinned toothily at her, clicking her teeth together.

"Great."

Carlisle interrupted their blather with his airy chuckle and went through the pleasantries with Bella. She turned an embarrassed red color and returned them, reverting to a more demure sort of statue as the man took his adoptive daughter's hand and moved it around carefully, checking to see if it was still numb and to see if the man who had handled the procedure had done it correctly. Lucky for him, he showed promise. The stitches were well in place, and didn't look like they'd be at threat for breaking. "Alright, it all looks to be alright." He said, moving his arm up. Esme fit under his arm perfectly, her hand naturally laying across her husband's chest. Carlisle kissed her cheek conservatively.

"Bella, I want to thank you for taking Erin here."

"Oh, it was no problem, I would do it for anyone." She promised.

Carlisle smiled, the action making attractive, almost human crinkles in the corner of his eyes. "Of course you would. But I wanted to thank you anyway... I'd love it if you and Charlie would join us for dinner in town sometime."

Oh Rosalie would just _love_ that.

Bella's flush didn't fade. "Oh—yes, yeah, of course. Um, I'll just tell Charlie. Edward has my number—If you wanted to set up a time or something." Erin watched the horror show that was unfolding in front of her with nothing else but the calm contentment that both the drugs and Jasper's sweet gift were inspiring her with. How was this possible, weren't they trying to avoid Bella? How did she manage to attract not only one, but ALL of the vampires? What the fuck was wrong with her?

"Absolutely. I'll send along a time that will work through him."

"Okay, yeah... Well, good-bye Erin, I hope the numbness wears off soon. I-I gotta go back to school... Bye." Bella was horrendous, she even bumped into a kids plastic chair on her way out of the hospital to the parking lot.

God, she was going to find something to die from there too, wasn't she?

Erin scoffed and looked up at Jasper, who's arm had gotten stiff and hard around her waist. "I'm not telling Ed. You're it."

* * *

 **This is gay as shit**

 **R &R**


End file.
